Undercover Madness
by KinaFae
Summary: Sakura finds herself working undercover in a mental institution as part of a test to join ANBU; a test instigated by her former sensei who is determined to put her off the idea of joining the elite. It isn't long before their pretend scenario leads both of them to question their own sanity.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: There are so many things I find wrong with this fic; repeated themes and cliches among them. However, nothing I have ever written has seen the light of day because it gets smothered by my ridiculous standards of perfection. This is me letting go for a change, and writing for the sake of writing. This fic also serves as a means to channel ravenous plot bunnies that refuse to play nice in any of my original works. I hope you enjoy it!_

 _Disclaimer: I own nothing. I'm using these characters to feed the plot bunnies. I also don't mean to offend anyone suffering from a real mental illness. I have one myself and I'm friends with others who cannot cope without medication. Any derogatory references come from the characters who, in this case, don't know any better._

* * *

Sakura lay quietly on the worn couch, her legs dangling over the armrest and her head in the lap of another girl. It was her favourite time of day; when the drugs wore off and she could spend a precious few moments feeling like herself again. She held out a hand experimentally and the trembling had lessened; an indication that the meds had run their course. Tomorrow she would be in the queue for more, and so the cycle would continue.

Chika shifted slightly under Sakura's weight. She had acquired some new reading material; the only thing that could keep her still for any length of time. The blonde sensed Sakura stirring and looked down to check on her.

Sakura stuck out her tongue, which Chika returned playfully before returning to her book. They had bonded well enough over the last week, the two girls. Their main difference however, was that Chika was really mentally ill, and Sakura was just pretending to be.

The common room was unusually full this afternoon. It was raining outside and all the inmates that usually spent this part of the day gardening were huddled up indoors. Two fights had already broken out and a baby cried incessantly while its exasperated mother tried to feed him.

Chika was the first inmate Sakura met when she arrived, because they had to share a room together. This had frightened Sakura first, and her initial impression of Chika didn't help either. Her wild, blonde hair looked permanently wind swept and her impossibly large blue eyes were framed by the evidence of a lifetime of insomnia. Sakura's fears were unfounded, however, because Chika was not nearly as crazy as she looked, though that was largely due to a carefully managed cocktail of drugs. She had been confined to this institution for five years, having proved time and again that she was incapable of staying on the meds by herself. The deep scars on the insides of her wrists bore testament to what happened in the absence of medication.

For the sake of appearances, Sakura needed to be on medication too, and because no one could be trusted to know that she was working undercover, the psychiatrist that hired her tried to find a concoction that was believable, but would not compromise Sakura's ability to do her job. This resulted in four pills a day; one of which was an antipsychotic that elicited rather unpleasant side effects. Other than the muscle tremor, it also made her uncharacteristically impulsive and restless, as well as making her fidget constantly. Of course, the psychiatrist had taken the side effects into account, and so the other three pills served to minimise them as much as possible. Unfortunately the antipsychotic drug was necessary. Sakura was hoping to get away with faking severe PTSD, but without the 'complication of psychosis' the psychiatrist couldn't justify keeping her at Katoka Reformatory.

Chika shifted again; she had been sitting in one place for over an hour after all.

"Maybe they need some help in the kitchen," Sakura offered.

"I just wanna finish this chapter," Chika replied. She was gnawing at a dangerously short fingernail.

On any other day, Sakura would have been glad for quiet time on the couch, but the arrival of another body to an already overcrowded room made her anxious to leave it; Kakashi had just walked in. "Read quickly," she instructed Chika, "I'll wait for you."

Chika may have been mad, but she wasn't stupid. "Your warden's here isn't he?"

"Maybe," Sakura replied. She glanced over at the copy-nin to find him looking straight at her. She held his gaze for a second before breaking it by rolling over on the couch, with her back to him. Kakashi and Genma were part of her team for this job, and while Sakura conducted her investigations as an inmate, Kakashi and Genma pretended to be wardens. Kakashi in particular, was assigned to keep an eye on her, as she was a 'dangerous kunoichi that could wreak havoc at the slightest provocation'. Apparently Sakura's psychosis was the result of a nasty Genjutsu that addled her brain a little. This scenario worked well for Sakura, because other than lying about her name and location, she could be relatively honest about the rest.

"Almost done," Chika said.

The kitchen was expectedly busy at this time of day; there were many inmates to feed. However, food preparation served as a healthy way to keep some of the inmates meaningfully occupied. Sakura and Chika were both given bread duty, where they were sent to the table covered in flour. Sakura found it strangely therapeutic; kneading dough not only dampened the tremors in her hands, but she was able to channel some of the frustration born from seeing her former sensei. Now that she was in her twenties, she had since learned to keep her temper in check; but the drugs made it hard to resist the temptation to do something violent to him. She slammed the dough hard against the table.

"Sush!" Chika said urgently; she was doing her best to supress a giggle. "You're gonna scare the other people."

Sakura looked up to see some of the inmates glancing nervously at her. She had already feigned a psychotic episode once, which resulted in a fair amount of collateral damage. Genma was the warden on duty at the time, and so he dragged her down the passage kicking and screaming like a wild animal. Once in the privacy of the solitary confinement cell, they were able to drop the act and compare their sadly thin reports.

Chika had thoroughly enjoyed watching Sakura make a scene, and had cheered her on all the way down the hallway.

"You sure you're okay?" Chika asked, nudging Sakura with her elbow. She was biting her lip in anticipation.

"Yeah, yeah," Sakura said, "I'm fine."

xxx

Kakashi leaned inconspicuously against the wall of the common room. It wasn't beyond him that Sakura's sudden departure to the kitchens had something to do with his presence. She had made it pretty clear that he was the last thing on earth she wanted to see. He couldn't blame her really; he'd been less than supportive of her newfound dream. He knew better, of course, thanks to firsthand experience. ANBU was a living nightmare, and he did not want to see his former student reduced to a breathing husk because of it.

Sakura needed two references to join the elite. Tsunade gave hers without a second thought, but even as hokage, her power was limited, and so Sakura needed a viable reference from one other source. Naturally, she had chosen him, not only because he was her former sensei, but because he was the only other person she could turn to. And he had said 'no'.

No, because ANBU was for people whose hearts were closed, who lusted after power and influence and were incapable of forming close connections with others. It was not a place for healers. It was part of the reason so many ANBU died of very treatable injuries; nin with the aptitude for healing did not fit in with the elite; they were too soft, too sensitive. The only chance most ANBU had of survival in the field was to make damn sure they weren't injured in the first place. Of course, this problem meant that talented medics were very high in demand, and Sakura planned to take advantage of that. If Sai had been around before Kakashi was due to leave for this mission, he would have wiped that fake smile right off his face, with his fist, because it was Sai that told Sakura that ANBU was desperately short of medics.

A week after Kakashi's refusal, he found himself in the hokage's office being grilled about his motives. He knew his superior could stoop low, but he didn't know just how low until that day. She accused him of sheltering his former student; for sabotaging her future. She pointed out how much attention he'd given his other students, giving the Uchiha Chidori and playing a significant role in Naruto's Rasengan. The least he could do for Sakura was give her a reference, which suddenly seemed cheap by comparison. He'd wondered in the past why Tsunade was still single…

He agreed, eventually and very reluctantly, but not without stating his own conditions. ANBU missions often required undercover work. A lot of it. He also knew that Sakura was a really poor liar. He told Tsunade that he would stand as Sakura's second reference, but only once she could prove her mettle in a covert operation. Expectedly, the hokage could not argue those terms, and agreed to them.

And now here he was, facing the consequences of his counter offer. The fact that Sakura's hatred for him stung, even a little, strengthened his resolve. ANBU tested his limits, on many levels, and if he was only just able to hold on to his humanity, he could hardly imagine how Sakura would cope, emotional and compassionate as she was. If he had to sacrifice his own feelings to save her from herself, then so be it.

The inmates buzzed restlessly around the common room. He could sense another fight brewing, and secretly, he hoped it would manifest. It was so boring here.

xxx

There was one other side effect to Sakura's meds that the doctor hadn't warned her about. Insomnia. The rain outside didn't help, and Sakura lay mesmerised by the patterns traced by raindrops running down the windows, the shadows cast on the opposite wall by the moonlight.

Chika was down in the kitchens somewhere. She couldn't sleep either, but that was largely due to her obsession with vermin. All night she fussed about rats crawling around in the kitchen below. Sakura couldn't stand it, and so she jutsued the lock most nights so that Chika could find some relief downstairs. Most of the time she returned before the matrons woke them up the next morning, but every now and then she fell asleep at one of the prep tables. When she was discovered there, she pulled the sleep walking card and claimed to know nothing of how she bypassed the locked door. That was one thing Chika could do well; lying. It was something Sakura needed to hone if she wished to join the black ops. In her fantasy mind, she believed she could get around it somehow, but the longer she stayed here, the more disillusioned she became.

Her decision to join ANBU had been uncharacteristically impulsive, and there may have been a little alcohol involved. However, what started off as a curious venture spiralled out of control quickly, leaving a relationship in ruins and her self-esteem in an even worse state. Oddly, while Sakura was only mildly interested in the position at first, all the unexpected turmoil that followed had made her utterly determined to join the black ops now. She wanted, no, _had_ to prove herself to everyone who believed she couldn't do it, starting with Kakashi.

Her mouth tightened at the thought of him. No one else had ever been subjected to this kind of _test_ before admission to the elite. She found her special circumstances humiliating. She had even told her peers back home that this was just a simple jonin class mission that called for her expertise because there was so much 'medicine' involved in psychiatric hospitals. Truth be told, her medical skills were of little use here; she could heal bleeding wounds, but not bleeding hearts and minds. In the meantime, she was happily forming a friendship with a very unstable young woman based entirely on lies. Perhaps that was the reason behind her insomnia; her conscience dealing its own special form of punishment.

The next morning Sakura found herself in Dr Nakamura's office for their weekly session. Of course, to everyone on the outside, this was standard procedure, though instead of therapy, Sakura was reporting her findings. She sat in the chair opposite the doctor, her hands wedged firmly between her thighs to steady the tremors while the doctor jotted something down on her clipboard.

"How are you feeling today?" The doctor asked eventually, peering at Sakura through a dainty pair of spectacles.

"Fine," Sakura replied. "I don't have anything to report…"

"We'll get to that in a minute," the doctor interrupted politely. "Right now I'm more concerned about how you're coping."

Sakura was a little stung by the comment. "I'm coping fine," she said. "Why do you ask?"

"You're looking, er, very much the part," the doctor replied, gesturing at Sakura with the back of her pen. "Are you doing it on purpose, or is there something I need to be concerned about?"

Sakura grabbed a wad of her hair and twirled it through her fingers. "Oh, you mean this?" she asked. She hadn't brushed her hair properly for two days. It was becoming too difficult to hold a brush steady.

"Yes," the doctor replied. "And now I can see why. The tremors seem to be getting worse."

"That's fine," Sakura lied, jamming her hand back between her legs. "It makes me more believable."

The doctor frowned. "And when last did you get some sleep? Have you actually seen yourself lately?"

Sakura shook her head. How could she? There were no mirrors here, at least, not any to which the inmates had access. It was an easy source of suicide material.

"I think I had better prescribe something to curb the insomnia," the doctor said, writing against her clipboard again. "And something stronger for the tremors…"

"No," Sakura cut in quickly, "please, no more meds. I'll be fine."

"You don't look fine," the doctor replied.

"I'm simply getting into character," Sakura said, faking a wide grin. "I will need to become more aggressive with my investigation soon."

The doctor skewed her mouth, but seemed to relent. "When last did you speak to one of your colleagues?" she asked.

It had been too long, actually. Sakura had been putting it off, thinking that they would attempt to contact her if they came across anything. "Not since our last session," she said.

"Perhaps I can arrange a meeting with Kakashi."

"No," Sakura said, "I'd rather speak with Genma."

"Why?" the doctor asked, frowning. "Wasn't Kakashi your sensei?"

Sakura sighed. "It's complicated," she said.

The doctor relaxed her shoulders and rested the clipboard on her lap. "If you want to talk about it," she ventured gently.

"Thank you," Sakura replied, "but I'd prefer to keep our relationship strictly business."

"Suit yourself," the doctor replied. "My offer stands if you change your mind." She wrote a final note on the clipboard. "I will arrange for Genma to meet you."

The doctor worked quickly, because that very afternoon Sakura found herself followed into the bathroom by the special jonin. There were four stalls, all of which were unoccupied. Sakura went into one of them first, and Genma followed. It was a tight squeeze, and Sakura sat on the lid of the toilet while Genma stood over her. They exchanged what they knew, but once again, their intelligence was minimal. They both wondered if the culprits suspected them of working undercover.

Sakura tried to terminate the meeting, but Genma hovered. He wore an odd frown on his face, which seemed directed at her. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Of course I'm alright," Sakura replied. She fluffed her untidy hair, glad for her exchange with the doctor to give her a head start on this matter. "This is all for show."

"The doctor said you insisted on speaking with me," Genma pressed.

Sakura decided to play coy. "So?"

Genma rolled his eyes. "Give me your hand."

Sakura blinked. "Why?"

"Because I want to give you something."

Sakura looked down at her hands, held firmly between her legs, and then back up at Genma. He'd given her no reason not to trust him before.

Genma took her by the wrist and held firm, making Sakura tense in response. "This'll hurt a little," he said, "just bear with me."

Sakura's eyes widened, "what are you…?" She didn't have time to finish. A senbon had been pierced firmly into her arm, and it did hurt. "You son of a…" and then she realised his intention. As soon as he let go, her hand stopped shaking immediately. She moaned at the relief.

Genma smiled. "Better?" he asked.

Pride went out the window. Without any prompting on Genma's part, she was holding out her other arm as well.

"Now you're going to talk," Genma said, "it's all I ask in return."

Sakura took a few more seconds to enjoy the calm in her other arm before making eye contact again. Of course his kind gesture wouldn't be for free, but his intentions were good. Sakura sighed and told Genma about the saga between her and Kakashi. Apparently he hadn't let Genma in on their little drama. "I'm just really pissed that he has so little faith in me," she concluded.

Genma frowned. "That's not true," he said. "If anything he admires you."

Sakura snorted. "Yeah right."

"He does," he pressed. "He said that one of your best qualities is your moral integrity." Genma bit his lip, apparently deliberating. "The problem is that to catch dirty people, you gotta play dirty. That's what ANBU is for."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"There's no shame in turning your back on the elite forces," Genma added. "I was asked to join once, but I know my limits."

"What, _you_ were asked to join ANBU?"

Genma frowned. "Is that so surprising?"

"No," Sakura shook her head. "I mean, I just had no idea is all." She was flexing her hands. The tremors may have stopped, but she was getting pins and needles now; the senbons must have blocked a nerve of some sort. "Why did you decline exactly?" she asked.

"I have seen what it does to people," Genma said. "And though I'm not supposed to know, I have heard about some of the things they've had to do, for the sake of a mission. I don't think I'm up for that." He leaned over and took the needles out of Sakura's arms. "The relief is only temporary, I'm afraid," he said.

Sakura reached out and confiscated the senbons. Genma watched as she hid them in the waistband of her pants, but did not try to stop her. "Think about it," he said. "ANBU is not the be-all and end-all."

"We had better go," Sakura said, standing up slowly. "We're gonna be missed soon."


	2. Chapter 2

Another uneventful week went by and Sakura found herself back in Dr Nakamura's office. The mission had seemed easy enough when she heard about it the first time. So easy, in fact, that part of the reason she was so insulted about having to complete it was because it would hardly test her. At least, that was what she thought. Her job was quite simple; to solve the mystery behind the series of deaths that had been taking place over the last few months. The doctor had simply been keeping an eye on it at first, but decided to call Tsunade when one of her own patients was added to the body count. He died of a seizure, apparently, and was 'accidentally cremated' before she had a chance to examine the body. This patient had never had a seizure before in his life.

Sakura was convinced that something would happen within the first fortnight. Now she was feeling more and more convinced that their cover had been blown somehow. She sat at the doctor's desk poring over patient files, desperately searching for some kind of similarity. Not that the doctor hadn't already conducted this part of the investigation, but sometimes a pair of fresh eyes did the trick.

She was just about to give up when something caught her attention. It seemed really minor, but it was a consistency nonetheless. "All of these patients were in really good health," Sakura said.

The doctor wrinkled her nose. "Yes I saw that, but there are many others here that fit the same profile."

Sakura sighed. The doctor was right. It was still too broad. "What about their counseling sessions?" Sakura asked. "There might be some clues there."

"That will be hours of work," the doctor said. "I was hoping something 'inside' would yield better information, but it seems we may have to consider that route. The problem is that those files are classified, and beyond my jurisdiction." The doctor shrugged. "All I have is a record of my sessions with my own deceased patient."

"Just tell me where to find the files," Sakura said confidently. "I'll find a way to get hold of them."

"That's not going to be easy," the doctor said.

"Doctor Nakamura," Sakura said firmly, "If I can't even break into an archive room to steal a few files, then I don't deserve to be called a kunoichi.

xxx

The doctor had been right when she said it wouldn't be easy. The archive room was actually its own building, one that resided outside of the mental facility. There was no way Sakura would be able to break in without the help of a warden. Furthermore, that warden would have to be Kakashi, given that he was assigned to keep an eye on her. It would arouse less suspicion if they were seen together.

The girls were sitting on a bench outside in the very small, but immaculately tended garden. Sakura had been left to her thoughts while Chika stared transfixed at something ahead of them. Whatever it was that interested Chika so much had become exciting enough to share now, because she broke Sakura's reverie with a stiff jab to the ribs with her elbow. "Look!" she whispered.

Sakura followed the direction of Chika's pointed finger to see that two inmates had decided to get to know each other a little better behind the swings. The nurse stood casually in the doorway, reading a book that she wanted everyone to think was the biography of a late Daimyo. Sakura had seen the book jacket slip often enough to know better; hence the flush in the nurse's face. From where she was standing, the shameless couple were obscured by a large plant pot, but from their bench, Chika and Sakura could see everything. The woman's pants were around her ankles, which she held up in the air while the man thrust frantically on top of her. Sakura covered her mouth, wishing that her hand was big enough to cover her whole face as well. Chika snorted with delight; this amused her immensely, clearly. The woman let out an animalistic squawk, which got the attention of a nearby inmate who had been tending mindfully to the flowerbed. He shrieked, alerting the nurse who did the same when she saw the couple. "Stop that!" she cried, marching over to them with her book ready to be used as coercion if necessary. Just when Sakura thought she couldn't take it anymore, the man groaned loudly and gave in to a series of convulsions before finally collapsing against the woman beneath him, who looked less than impressed. The nurse's shouting had got Kakashi's attention from inside the common room and he ran out to see if everything was okay. It didn't take him long to work out what had transpired and Sakura could tell by his uncovered eye that an amused grin had spread across his face. He must have sensed her gaze and met it by looking over his shoulder at his former student. Sakura was suddenly mortified; her embarrassment was painted all over the face she wished so dearly she could hide. Kakashi's grin disappeared when their eyes met and he held the contact for a few seconds before breaking it again to help the nurse. This simple exchange posed a serious problem for Sakura.

"Looks like she got a bum deal outta that," Chika snickered from beside Sakura. She was talking about the female inmate who was kept firmly in tow behind the nurse as they headed back to the common room. Obviously there would be some unpleasant consequences for their behaviour, and she had nothing to show for it. The male inmate, on the other hand, practically beamed as Kakashi led him behind the nurse and her charge.

Chika shrugged, "I suppose when you got needs, you got needs, you know…" she waved at Kakashi as he passed their bench.

"I thought it was gross," Sakura said. "How could they…"

"It's not so bad when you're into it, though I would have chosen a different spot," Chika said.

Sakura arched an eyebrow at her.

Chika giggled. "I got caught giving a guy a blowjob in the pantry," she said.

"You didn't…"

"Hey, cute guys don't come…I mean _arrive_ here every day," Chika defended, "you grab 'em when they appear."

"Is he still around?" Sakura asked.

"Nah," Chika replied, "He was one of the few who got rehabilitated." She sighed. "It's been so long since I've been with someone since then. When was your last time?" she asked Sakura.

Sakura's throat tightened. It had been too long, actually, and so unpleasant that she'd vowed to abstain from any sexual contact with anyone until she was sure she'd met the right person. The flush in her cheeks led Chika to her own assumptions.

"You're not one of those saving yourself for marriage, are you?" Chika asked.

 _Marriage?_ Sakura couldn't think of anything more ridiculous. That word had once been synonymous with the name _Sasuke_ , but that was before he came back and used her like the piece of shit he thought she was. The memory burned.

"No," Sakura replied eventually. "Call me conservative."

"That warden of yours is quite a peach…" Chika said, clearly having lost interest in what Sakura had to say about herself. It suited her, but the comment was jarring.

"What? You mean Kakashi?"

"Not an ounce of fat on him," Chika mused, more to herself, "All muscle and attitude. I watch him lean against the wall like he owns the place…"

"Okay, enough," Sakrua interrupted. "I get it."

"Jealous?"

"No! He's just… I've never looked at him that way." Sakura said. In reality, she hadn't looked at anyone that way since Sasuke. She didn't welcome the new idea at all.

"So you saying I can have him?" Chika asked.

Sakura loathed the image that just appeared in her mind; of Chika and her former teacher performing the same act behind the swings… "Yes! Whatever…"

xxx

Sakura woke up wishing she had taken the doctor up on her offer for sleeping tablets. Sure Sakura slept, but she was plagued by dreams that left her feeling dirty the next morning. It had been years since she had given her former obsession more than a passing thought; she needed to supress it for the sake of her sanity.

Sasuke had returned to the village three years ago, and a little worse for wear in many aspects. She remembered seeing him in the hospital, where he was being treated by Tsunade herself. It took a good month before he was discharged and in that time, no other staff were allowed in his room. Sakura had spent the entire time in agony wondering what their reunion would be like. She had anticipated and prepared for a wide variety of scenarios, but the one that transpired was the one she expected the least. She stumbled upon him in a teahouse after having been off her radar for two days. He was standing amidst several male colleagues and they were all quite intoxicated. They were teasing him about something, but Sakura walked in too late to hear what it was. Too shy to approach him directly, she led Ino to a vacant table further inside the teahouse. The men continued to drink and jest and on more than one occasion Sakura caught him looking at her. Eventually he approached their table and by the end of the night she was putty in his hands. He took her back to his apartment and they slept together; it was her first time and it was weird, and awkward. The week that followed was painful to say the least, because she realised soon enough that what had been really special for her, turned out to be a simple one night stand for him. And then, just when she thought she'd managed to get a handle on her broken heart, she found out that she had been a bet; a challenge. Turned out Sasuke wasn't into girls at all, and that the men at the bar put money in a jar over whether he could pull it off or not. He'd taken advantage of her feelings for him to win some money, and not very much either. Apparently she'd repulsed him, being the wrong gender and all. It made her never want to be with another man ever again, and she'd managed to stay abstinent right up until now. In any other circumstance, her inexperience would have been a nonissue. In ANBU, experience in this field was compulsory, and yesterday, Kakashi had seen her shame written all over her face. She made a mental note to kill Sasuke if she failed this mission.

Kakashi was lurking around the common room with a book of his own, though he made no effort to hide its contents with a fake book jacket; he didn't need to. Sakura missed seeing him with some or other edition of the Icha Icha series. Ever since Kakashi joined ANBU again two years ago, his reading material changed to match his mood. Make out tactics had been replaced with books that would improve his battle tactics instead; things like political history and war. She seriously considered stealing the nurse's dirty reading material and sneaking it into Kakashi's hands. Perhaps he would lighten the fuck up.

Sakura's opponent coughed and her attention was drawn back to the board on the table. It was her turn to roll the dice.

"You're losing," the old man pointed out. He dragged a cracked fingernail along the ladder his token had just ascended.

 _All the better_ , Sakura thought. She had started the game as a distraction from the knot growing in her stomach over confronting her former sensei, but she was ready to get it over with now. She tossed the dice across the wooden table. Snake eyes.

The old man laughed.

Sakura moved her token two spaces forward, narrowly missing a snake and looked up in time to see Chika approaching the copy-nin. _No!_ She thought.

Chika swayed casually, twirling a wild blonde lock of hair between her fingers. Of course Kakashi was aware of her, he was just pretending to be too engrossed in his book.

Chika pulled up beside Kakashi and leaned against the wall next to him, making a point to get close. Kakashi acknowledged her with a polite nod.

Sakura strained to hear what Chika said next, which she basically purred into Kakashi's ear. The copy-nin arched an eyebrow in response, and turned his head to give Chika his full attention.

Sakura's stomach flipped. Was that jealousy? Kakashi hadn't given Sakura as much consideration in years, resorting simply to a passing eye crease or a _yo_ when their paths crossed in the village. He'd become scarce and untouchable since he returned to ANBU.

Chika said something else, which elicited a smile from Kakashi; a curious smile. Sakura's observation was broken by the old man poking her in the shoulder, "your turn," he said repeatedly. She'd had enough…

"I'm done with this stupid game!" Sakura yelled. She flipped the table violently. Tokens, dice and board went clattering dramatically across the room and the poor man was only just able to escape in time. _Whoops; too much chakra_. Inmates screamed and many ran for cover. "What the fuck you looking at?!" Sakura shouted at a poor woman who stood gawking at her like a deer in the headlights.

"Yes!" Chika cried, bouncing on her feet. "You tell her! Tell her to fuck off!" She picked up a plastic cup and threw it into the commotion. It bounced harmlessly against the man who'd had his way with another inmate on the couch the other day. He cowered when it hit him.

Sakura was charging for another table when Kakashi grabbed her from behind.

"No!" Chika wailed. "Let her rage!"

At least Chika was too excited about Sakura's outburst to complain about it interfering with her attempt at seducing Kakashi, who was presently man handling the raging kunoichi. "Hold still," he said into her ear.

Sakura twisted around and threw a punch at the copy-nin, which very narrowly missed his face. He was lucky, she'd chakra charged that one on purpose.

"Fuck sakes Sakura," Kakashi growled, "Don't make me hurt you,"

"Oh you'd love that," Sakura snapped. Any further provocation was stopped dead when Kakashi called her bluff, flipping her around again and jabbing her hard in the neck with a large needle. She bit back a cry; she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. The injection was nothing more than a brightly coloured saline solution, but Sakura pretended to go limp to keep up appearances. Kakashi swept her up and carried her down the hall to the solitary confinement cell. Chika complained bitterly from down the hallway.

Kakashi dropped Sakura unceremoniously and turned to lock the soundproof door behind him. She was a little sad actually, that it was over so soon. The outburst had been surprisingly cathartic, more so than the first one had been. Last time she actually cared about hurting Genma.

Kakashi stood glaring at her now, his arms crossed firmly across his chest. She'd initiated the contact, so it was obviously up to her to talk first. She ignored the stab of pain when she compared this with how she'd seen him behave with Chika minutes ago.

"I have a lead," Sakura began, rubbing the tender area on her neck.

Kakashi listened carefully while Sakura explained the details of their mission. Together they decided on a time and how best to achieve their objective. Sakura had a hard time meeting his eyes. Her mind reeled with the ideas Chika had unwelcomely planted there. The copy nin had relaxed his defensive stance, standing once again in his usual lopsided way. He had replaced his hitai-ate with a simple eye patch and covered the lower part of his face with an oversized scarf. She had to admit that there _was_ something sexy about the way he carried himself. She shook her head to rid herself of where that thought was going…

"You okay?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes," Sakura replied, too quickly, "I'm fine."


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I had these first few chapters ready from the get go. Updates will be a little slower from here. I hope you've enjoyed so far.  
_

* * *

Team KakaSaku had decided unanimously to take advantage of Sakura's outburst to visit the archives that very night. It was not uncommon for an inmate who'd lost the plot a little to endure some more invasive therapy in one of the outbuildings. They decided to go with the story that Sakura needed to visit the steam room for a few hours.

After what felt like an eternity in the solitary cell, Kakashi finally appeared to summon her. He was carrying a bag that she assumed had a change of clothes for her. He frowned when he saw her with two senbons in her arms.

"Genma gave them to me," Sakura said.

"I gathered that," Kakashi replied.

Sakura removed the needles and returned them to their hiding place. She had to work quickly, because the tremors returned within seconds, which seriously compromised her dexterity.

"We need to hurry," Kakashi said, "the matron on duty is gonna come back this way any second. Sakura stood up and gathered herself together. "What time is it?" she asked.

"They've just called lights out," Kakashi replied.

It was surprisingly easy to exit the building. They passed a few other wardens along the way, but Kakashi simply gripped Sakura tightly around her upper arm and made as if he was marching her to the therapy rooms. Chances were that rumors of her outburst had spread far enough already. The guard at the exit had asked Kakashi to sign something and let them out without another word. They ducked behind the first building and Kakashi gave Sakura a set of dark cleaner's overalls to wear over her white clothes.

Now the hard part was to make it to the archive room without being seen. Especially since it was on the opposite side of the compound from the therapy rooms. They kept low, and stayed within the shadows, carefully timing the movements of the guards.

After what felt like an eternity of stalking and shallow breathing, they finally reached the archive room. Kakashi jutsued the lock, taking care to disable the alarm attached to the door as well. They snuck in through the entrance and closed the door behind them.

The dark room was huge, made up of rows and rows of filing cabinets. According to their alibi, they were only meant to be gone for two hours. They both crouched against the wall, below the window and contemplated their situation. This would probably be their only shot, and two hours wasn't enough.

After a long silence, Kakashi bit his thumb. The resulting cloud of smoke cleared to reveal a familiar pug.

"Pakkun!" Sakura cried. It had been so long.

The dog greeted her politely before awaiting his orders. He may not have been able to get through the files any quicker than Kakashi and Sakura by reading them, but what he _could_ do was identify which files had been used recently, because the users' scent would still be strong. The pug scuttled off to the far end of the building and put his nose to the floor, and to the filing cabinets. All they could do now was wait.

Kakashi shifted over so that he made physical contact with Sakura. The gesture made her tense initially, but familiarity kicked in and she relaxed again. This was a common tactic; close body contact. It was used as a method of tactile communication for situations like these, where visibility was low and silence was necessary. She could feel him breathing evenly against her as the pug went about his business inside the building.

The sound of boots crunching over gravel made Sakura tense again. She held her breath while a large dot of light danced around the filing cabinets as the guard checked to see if anyone was lurking inside. She was very glad that Pakkun was the one weaving through them and not her and Kakashi. After an agonizing minute or so, the light disappeared and the crunching resumed. It was only after the guard was long gone when Sakura finally exhaled the breath she was holding.

Kakashi cursed.

"What?" Sakura whispered.

"Nothing," Kakashi replied, sighing sharply and fisting his hair.

"Don't lie to me," Sakura probed.

"You're so fucking tense," Kakashi snapped. "It's distracting."

"Well in case you haven't noticed," Sakura replied, "there's a lot riding on the success of this mission."

"For you there is," Kakashi pointed out.

"Is it so bad that I want to progress in life?" Sakura spat.

Kakashi shook his head. "Just forget it."

Sakura breathed deeply to get her temper under control. A long silence commenced before she spoke again. "You know it really hurts that you have so little faith in me," she said.

Another long silence. "ANBU is for people that are hard and cruel," Kakashi said eventually. "I would have you by my side for any mission, because I know I can count on you. But ANBU will destroy you."

"My point exactly," Sakura replied. "You're saying I'm too weak for ANBU."

She felt Kakashi shake his head. It was too much, she wanted to get far away from him before he could deliver another deathblow to her ailing self-esteem. She leaned forward and crawled over to a large steel cupboard where flopped back against it.

The sudden contact with the steel cupboard made one of the doors fall open, followed by a loud electronic click.

All three of them swore.

No alarm went off inside the room, but it was likely a siren was going off where it counted; a guardhouse for instance. Any minute now the place would be swarming with security.

Sakura stood up, her wide eyes darting in every direction. What had she done?

Kakashi glided across the room towards her, standing to meet her wild eyes when he was close enough.

"Get a hold of yourself," he commanded.

"Oh Kami," Sakura cried. "We're so fucking busted."

Kakashi grabbed her wrists firmly. "Not yet if we're quick," he said.

Sakura felt a wave of hope. "What…?"

Kakashi swung Sakura around and threw her hard against the steel cupboard, resulting in a deafening clang and winding her in the process. Before she could catch her breath, he pressed himself against her, so hard and close that she could feel him trembling.

Sakura watched as he hooked a finger over the lip of the scarf that was hiding his face and her heart skipped a beat as he began to pull it down. "What are you doing?" she whispered frantically. She shut her eyes tight and turned her head away from him. "Kaka-sensei..."

Kakashi grabbed her jaw in one hand and whipped her head back around to face him. "I'm saving your stupid dream," he whispered. And then he kissed her.

Sakura's eyes shot open and she struggled against him. Kakashi's hands found their way to the backs of her thighs and in one fluid movement, lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, giving him room to press harder against her body. Sakura gasped.

"Go with it," Kakashi whispered against her mouth. "It's all we have."

He pressed his mouth to hers again and Sakura took a sharp breath through her nose. She willed her body to relax and was just about to participate when the door was kicked open. "Oh kami they found us!" she cried.

"Who's there?" A guard shouted, casting the light from his torch directly at them. Kakashi stood back quickly and Sakura nearly fell flat on her face from the sudden release of pressure. The flashlights dazzled her and she blinked to clear her vision.

"My, my," the guard chuckled. "Looky what we have here."

Kakashi held up his hands in surrender.

"You're trespassing in a restricted area, warden," another guard growled.

"I'm really sorry," Kakashi said meekly. "We were just looking for some privacy…"

"There are plenty quiet spots inside there," the guard replied, pointing at the main building with his torch.

"Yes, but you see," Kakashi glanced nervously toward the institution, "her boyfriend works in there."

"Oh you mangy dog," a third guard spat.

Sakura's stomach was in knots; she hoped dearly that she wouldn't be expected to verify the lie. Who was her boyfriend supposed to be, exactly?

"Get out of here manwhore," the first guard ordered. "If we catch you here again…"

Kakashi took Sakura by the hand and led the way forward, tolerating a hard shove in the back as he passed the grumpier guard.

They were forced to make their way back to the institution in the open. Skulking around would do more damage in their current situation. Sakura heard the guards laughing from behind, the word _slut_ came up too. Sakura wanted to die of embarrassment. She was glad at least, that the guards likely thought she was a cleaner thanks to the overalls. Things would have been far more complicated if they thought she was an escaped patient. And Kakashi would have been fired.

She did not intend to talk about what just happened, but there was a question burning inside Sakura's mind that she knew would remain unanswered for a long time if she didn't ask it now. They were still a short distance away from the main building. It was now or never.

"Why did you do it?" she said carefully, trying to keep her voice even.

Kakashi waited a long time to answer, and continued to stare at the ground as he spoke. "I actually don't know," he replied honestly. "And I'm sorry now that I did."

Sakura shot a glance at him. "Why?" she asked.

"Because now I know for sure that Sasuke was your last."

Sakura's stomach flipped. "How the…?"

"I heard about it eventually," Kakashi said, "And if it's any consolation, I put him back in hospital at our next training session."

The comment surprised her actually. Kakashi cared? But the revelation was soon clouded by the need to defend herself, "so what if he was my last…"

"I also know that he was your first," Kakashi interrupted.

"That's bullshit…"

"Don't, Sakura," Kakashi breathed patiently, "just don't."

Sakura wilted. He knew. And no amount of arguing was going to convince him otherwise. This mission might have been saved, but her dream of joining ANBU?

"I won't tell Tsunade," Kakashi said eventually. "I'll let you deal with your own demons on this one."

Sakura glared at him, but he wouldn't say anything more. They reached the main building and the guard let them back inside, commenting that they were a lot earlier than expected.

xxx

The first thought through Kakashi's head the next morning was of Pakkun. He knew beyond a doubt that the pug had managed to hide himself when the guards appeared, but he wondered if he'd stayed on afterwards to search for the files. Of course, with that thought settled, his mind was soon flooded with the memory of what he'd done with his former student. He ran a hand down his face as if to erase the memories, but they remained, burned into his brain. He'd gone against two of his own values in one move; fraternizing with a student, and helping said student toward her obvious demise. Okay, sure, Sakura was not technically his student anymore, but she still called him _sensei_ , and that was close enough for him. As to why he didn't just let 'nature' take its course and allow the mission to fail, as it should have, he did not know. It wasn't even like he'd sabotaged it himself. Sakura was the one who knocked the cupboard door open, all on her own, though granted, she did it because of something _he_ had said. Then again, that was her emotions ruling her fucking pretty head all over again, which was exactly why she did not belong with the elite.

Kakashi sat up and stretched. He could run this argument through his head all day, or he could be honest with himself for a change; he was more upset about last night not because he'd squandered a perfect opportunity to crush Sakura's chance at ANBU, but because he'd lost his nerve.

Yes, he'd lost his nerve, and Sakura felt it because he was shaking. What bothered him even more was that he wasn't exactly sure why. He'd pulled that dirty trick so many times without even a second thought, and not always with female partners either. Yet this time, he was nervous. Was it because of their relationship? Was it because he knew she would fight him? He'd suspected for a long time that she was sorely inexperienced; it was part of the reason for his refusal to refer her. He also knew that he wouldn't need to tell Tsunade, because chances were that Sakura would come clean; her conscience always had the final say. Perhaps he hadn't wasted a good opportunity after all. If Sakura finally came to her senses and relinquished this stupid venture, then at least Tsunade could not accuse him of having a hand in that decision; he'd gone out of his way to help her after all.

Kakashi was normally good at squashing his emotions, but he was better at it when he knew what it was that he was actually feeling. Right now, something odd stirred inside him, and it felt good, bad and weird all at the same time.

xxx

The day after Sakura's botched mission she was called into the doctor's office. Naturally, she hadn't slept at all the night before. And it had nothing to do with the meds. Certain that her summons was to terminate the contract, Sakura sat in the chair with her head down in shame.

"I don't know how you did it," Dr Nakamura began, walking into the room from a small office behind it. "But I must say that I'm impressed."

Sakura searched the comment for hints of sarcasm, but found none. She looked up quizzically to see the doctor holding a large stack of files in her hand.

"How on earth did you get these into my office?" she asked. "The door was locked this morning when I came in."

That's when Sakura spotted it; small bite marks on the corner of the lowermost file. _Pakkun_. "We have ways," she said, smiling. She made a mental note to find out what constituted a gift for the pug; he certainly deserved the hell out of it.

"I spent all morning going through these," the doctor said. "Unfortunately they didn't yield much."

Sakura's smile waned. "What _did_ it yield?" she asked.

"Another odd consistency," the doctor said. She dropped the files to the table between them and took a seat in her chair across from Sakura. "All of the patients, including mine, suddenly seemed hopeful about something; like they had a future to look forward to."

"What sort of future?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know," the doctor shrugged. "After many years, most patients accept their fate; that they're likely going to spend the rest of their lives here. You can tell in the way they speak. They become apathetic. These patients all changed a few weeks before they died. They became happy, and hopeful. Like they had a chance of recovering."

"And then they died…"

"Yes, and then they died."

Sakura sighed. Yes, it was clue, but it wasn't a lead at all. She started to wonder if all that happened last night was for nothing.

"There was one small thing that might just help us," the doctor said, sliding one of the files out of the pile. "This patient has a record of an autopsy."

Sakura took the file and looked through it. "What am I looking for, exactly?"

"A drug," the doctor said. "He tested positive for a highly controversial drug named Serotix."

"Serotix?"

"Yes," the doctor confirmed. "His psychiatrist did not prescribe it, but it was found in his system."

"So there might be some kind of black trade?" Sakura felt her heart leap. This could the answer. If someone was distributing a controversial drug among the inmates, they would want them to be 'cremated by accident' to hide the evidence. It fit too well.

"Yes, maybe," the doctor mused, "but it's not easy to catch the culprits. We've been struggling with drug trade in this institution for years."

"Well, it's the best we've got so far," Sakura said.

The doctor agreed.

One place that seemed to be a breeding ground for the trade of illegal drugs was a tea house named Jade Moon. Beyond the institution one could find a residents' commune that accommodated all the staff working at Katoka reformatory, including nurses, guards, wardens and cleaners. Even the doctor lived there. The village was divided into several compounds, some of which housed permanent staff and others that accommodated volunteers or people that came to fulfil some penal community service. Kakashi and Genma stayed in a compound named White Ash, which was where most of the wardens lived. In an ideal world, Kakashi and Genma would be able to scout Jade Moon for anything suspicious. But everyone in the residents' commune already knew that they were wardens, and so were associated with 'the law'. Fewer of the residents had seen Sakura though, having been kept safe with the other inmates inside the reformatory. And for a change, her pink hair had been an advantage. Add a touch of color and a change in style and no one would look at her twice at Jade Moon.

It was agreed that Sakura would spend her evenings at Jade Moon, and her days inside the reformatory. The doctor wasn't happy about her burning the candle at both ends, and insisted that Sakura stick to three day cycles so that she could get some rest in between. Sakura could care less; she wasn't getting any sleep inside the reformatory anyway. The doctor spent the rest of their session teaching Sakura about Serotix; the symptoms, the side effects and how to test for it. It was the first time her medical abilities would come in handy for this mission so far, and for the first time, she felt her confidence returning.

* * *

 _A/N: That 'dirty trick' of Kakashi's has sooo been done before - I know, but I love the awkwardness of it._


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I am super stoked at the reviews so far; they are so encouraging! Thank you so much. Herewith the next installment. There may be a delay on chapter five mainly because I'm visiting family in a different city at the moment and privacy is hard to come by. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Kakashi had come to enjoy spending his evenings off at the tea house. It was the least savoury hangout in the commune, but he was also less conspicuous here. Everyone in this place was up to no good in one way or another. He'd come here straight after his awkward encounter with Sakura, and was rewarded with a female who was also looking for some kind of distraction too. She was training to be a psychiatrist, and was working at the reformatory for six months to satisfy the practical component of her studies. She had just endured a terrible day and Kakashi was glad to save her from it, at least for a few hours. They went to her flat at Red Pine, the compound next door to his, and he was grateful that she did not have a roommate. He was just about to tear into her when she produced a small packet of light blue powder from inside her jacket. Apparently it was a great sex drug, among other things. Kakashi lied about being high on something else already and waited with eager anticipation for her to be done with her fix so that he could rip her clothes off.

It had been good for him. So good that he sat at his table, sipping at his beer and hoping upon hope that she would come back for more tonight.

Something familiar stirred his senses and he looked up to see a young lady enter the tea house. She had long dark hair and… Kakashi sighed. This was no stranger. He formed the seals and whispered _release._ The dark hair immediately turned pink. _What the fuck was Sakura doing here_?

She spotted him immediately and after glancing around, made her way to his table. She was wearing civilian clothes; a pair of jeans and loose fitting white shirt. Why she insisted on being so androgynous he didn't know.

"Evening, Kaka-sensei," Sakura said. She took a seat opposite him at the table.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure?" Kakashi asked, trying to sound unaffected by her presence. He took another sip of his beer.

"We have a lead," she said, a smile teasing at the corners of her mouth. "Pakkun pulled through for us."

That had his attention. He hadn't found an opportunity to summon the nindog since their bust in the archives room. He wasn't surprised though; Pakkun always delivered, if he could. Sakura went on to explain how the files 'magically' appeared in the doctor's office the next morning. She then went on to talk about the drug.

"How exactly does this drug look?" Kakashi asked.

"Blue powder," Sakura replied. "Usually."

Kakashi arched an eyebrow. "I may have stumbled across it."

"Really?" Sakura looked excited. "How?"

Kakashi snorted. Yeah right he was going to tell her how. Perhaps he should; make it seem like casual sex was the only way to gather intelligence when working under cover. That would scare her off… "I have ways," Kakashi replied, deciding to keep mum after all. "Tell you what," he added, "go back to the reformatory and I'll find out more about this drug."

"You can't," Sakura said indignantly. She seemed a little upset at being treated like a child. "It's a really complicated technique to identify the drug correctly. Blue powder could be anything."

"Fine," Kakashi countered, "I'll get a sample of it to you."

Sakura looked as if she was going to say something, but closed her mouth and glared at him instead. After a few more seconds she stood up to leave. "Tell Pakkun I say thank you," she said.

"I will," Kakashi replied nonchalantly.

Sakura sneered and left the tea house without looking back. She had a spine in her, that was for sure. But that was never in doubt in the first place. Kakashi took a final draught of his beer and ordered another one. _Please let last night's conquest be tonight's distraction too_ , he prayed, keeping an eye on door.

xxx

Sakura started in the direction of the reformatory, but stopped midway up the path. The institution looked different from here. A large section of it was built into the cliff face, and the lighted widows along the flat rock made Sakura think of skew teeth in a jagged grin. Her section of the institution had been built just below the cliff; she was part of a more docile group, able to coexist happily together and to share a common room without much fuss. It was part of the reason her outbursts had to be kept to a minimum, because too many might have constituted a move to the section inside the mountain, which was reserved for the mentally ill that were also extremely dangerous as well. It was where the S class rogues went if they were found to be insane too. That was another odd consistency, Sakura thought. All the mysterious deaths had taken place in her section of the reformatory.

She should have gone back to her room; it was a free pass for some sleep after all. But she couldn't. She was angry. Her chance at proving herself had been stolen from her, by someone who had nothing prove at all. _He's going to die one day_ , she thought, and the village will be left helpless because he and his ilk weren't prepared to train anyone to replace them. Sakura turned around and went back to the commune. Jade Moon wasn't the only tea house here, and she had money to burn on some liquid comfort.

Sakura walked into the tea house and made a quick analysis of her surroundings. It was far less dingy in here, and the patrons were livelier as well. A small band played live music on the stage and many patrons sang along. She spotted an empty spot at the bar and made for it, but not before a waving hand in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She glanced over to see Genma sitting at a table full of other patrons. How had she missed him? He'd obviously seen straight through her genjutsu like Kakashi had. But while they saw pink hair, everyone else saw dark hair, at least, that's what she hoped everyone else saw.

Genma shifted along the bench to make room for Sakura, and as soon as she sat down, he gave her a warm hug around the shoulders. "I have no idea why you're here," he said into her ear. "But I'm glad you came."

Sakura frowned and wondered how much he'd had to drink.

"This is my special friend Mayu," Genma announced to everyone at the table, who all went on to introduce themselves eagerly, all but one. The girl sitting next to Genma did not seem very pleased to see Sakura there.

"She's been trying to get into my pants all night," Genma whispered into Sakura's ear, being careful not to stab her with the senbon in his mouth. Please help me out."

Sakura blushed. It explained the warm welcome. "You can start by buying me a drink."

"Done!" Genma announced. He summoned the waiter before she had a chance to tell him what she wanted to order.

Sakura glanced carefully at the girl. She wasn't bad looking at all, which made her wonder why Genma was trying to avoid her.

She leaned over to ask Genma why he and Kakashi weren't together and he took the opportunity to lean in close again. Apparently he was serious about deflecting this girl. "Our chances of stumbling on some useful intel is better if we work apart," he whispered. As he pulled back, he kissed Sakura on the cheek, which made her blush again.

The hours passed, and Genma paid for each opportunity to deflect his stalker with more alcohol, which was making Sakura feel increasingly inebriated. Eventually the girl got the message and left the table, choosing to join another group instead. Sakura expected the attention from Genma to stop after the girl was gone, but it didn't, and it was starting to confuse her. More than once Sakura considered the possibility that Genma was hoping to get a little more for all the money he'd spent on her this evening. The thought both terrified and excited her at the same time. And then it suddenly dawned on her that this might be the perfect opportunity to clock up some experience…

It was after one in the morning when the group finally chose to disband. Sakura stood up and nearly fell over, but Genma was swift enough and caught her around the waist. After an awkward trip through the exit, they all bade each other farewell on the teahouse veranda and went their separate ways. Sakura managed to extricate herself from Genma's hold and found that she was more than fine to walk on her own. Sure, she was tipsy, okay, maybe a little more than tipsy, but she had been in a worse state before.

"Thanks for helping me out," Genma said as they walked.

"Sure, no problem," Sakura replied, hugging her bare shoulders against the cold. "What was wrong with that girl anyway?"

"Baggage," Genma replied simply. "I've run into her a few times and she gets weirder the more I get to know her."

"I see," Sakura said. The path was made of cobble stones and she misjudged her step, causing her to stumble ungracefully. Genma was there to catch her again. She was about to protest, but changed her mind when his body heat warmed her against the chill she'd been fighting the last few minutes. She relaxed and allowed him to guide her along the path.

"So why are you out here?" Genma asked.

Sakura supposed now was as good a time as any and she briefed Genma the same way she had Kakashi. Only this time Genma had seen nothing of the sort during his visits to Numa Suki; the teahouse in which they had just spent the last few hours.

They reached the crossroad where Sakura needed to turn to go to the reformatory, but Genma swayed her back his way.

"Um…"

"Not in this state you aren't," he said firmly.

Sakura's stomach turned. Her wild fancy about paying for her drinks in kind was suddenly dangerously close to coming true. She just had to make sure that she was back at the reformatory before 4am.

They reached Genma's apartment and he led her inside. It was a bare bones living space; one room with two beds opposite each other and a small table in the middle. A tiny kitchenette opened to one side and an even smaller bathroom to the other. Genma led Sakura to one of the beds and she flopped down onto her back. She watched as Genma pulled out two glasses from a cupboard in the kitchen and fill them with water from the tap.

 _Oh great, like water is going to fix me now_ , Sakura thought. As long as she was having crazy ideas about sleeping with Genma, nothing could fix her. Her stomach turned again and she stared hard at the ceiling to clear her mind, and the butterflies.

She jumped when Genma took her by the arm and lifted her up. She followed him to the little table in the middle of the room and sat down on the small wooden chair he pulled out for her. Genma gave her a glass and Sakura realised that there was a lot more to this drink than water; it was dark orange.

"Drink up," Genma urged. "It's your best hope at making it back to the reformatory in one piece."

Sakura eyed out the drink suspiciously. "You go first," she said eventually.

Genma shrugged and took a sip from his glass.

Sakura watched him closely for any signs of disgust and decided that it was safe. She took a long draught and nearly gagged. It was the most revolting thing she'd ever tasted in her life.

Genma laughed and patted Sakura on the back.

"Kami, Genma," she coughed. "Is it the herbs or the taste that sobers you up?"

"Probably both," Genma replied. He urged Sakura to finish hers and was ready with a glass of water to wash the taste away.

It was only after Genma stood up to take all the glasses to the sink that Sakura realised all the attention he'd been giving her had stopped. Did that mean he hadn't brought her here to have his way with her after all?

Genma came back to the table and sat down next to her again. He told her that the drink usually took about an hour to work.

"An hour," Sakura mused. Inner Sakura immediately started shrieking _insanity_ , but the voice of reason stood little chance against the alcohol. "An hour is an awfully long time to wait around."

"It's better than stumbling like an ass all the way home," Genma replied.

"I'm not complaining," Sakura said. Her heart was racing so fast she thought it would run right out of her chest. "I was just wondering about what we could do to pass the time."

Genma leaned over the table. "And what exactly to you have in mind?" he asked. The question was completely innocent; he'd missed her innuendo completely. It meant that she still had a chance to back out of this hair brained idea. She didn't take it.

"All that acting back at Numa Suki got me a little curious," she said, biting her lip.

Genma may have missed her first hint, but the second one found its mark. He chuckled. "Sakura, you're drunk."

"I'm not _that_ drunk," she protested. She leaned across the small gap between them and ran her finger down his bottom lip. "Besides, you're the reason I'm drunk."

Genma tensed and grabbed Sakura's hand before she could tease him further. "My will isn't very strong right now," Genma said. "In case you didn't notice, I needed that sober-up drink as much as you did."

"I was counting on that," Sakura purred. Nerves or not, she actually wanted this. She lifted her free hand and pulled the senbon from his mouth with two fingers.

Genma's grip on the other hand tightened. "You're playing a dangerous game, Sakura," he whispered.

"You're acting like this is a bad thing," Sakura said.

"It has the potential to be," Genma said. "Last I checked this is forbidden amongst team mates during missions."

Sakura paused. He was right, and she'd forgotten all about that. It was an honest mistake, given that she'd never been tempted before. But she was already this far, and Genma was teetering on the edge.

"I won't tell anyone if you don't," she said eventually. When he didn't respond she leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth.

Genma stiffened and made no move to reciprocate. Sakura pulled away and looked him in the eye. "Don't tell me you don't want this as much as I do."

That had done it. Genma's resolve crumbled and grabbed her face roughly in both hands, pulling her into a deep and intense kiss. Sakura's head swam, and it wasn't only from the alcohol.

Genma's hands found their way to her hips and he grabbed her by the belt, lifting her up onto his lap so that she straddled him. His arousal was immediately apparent when she settled against him and it made her blush even more. Fear and lust warred with each other in the pit of her stomach as Genma explored her body with expert hands. He pulled away from the kiss to take a much needed breath, and the need in his glazed eyes made Sakura giddy. No man had ever looked at her like that before.

Deft fingers found their way to the hem of Sakura's shirt and before she could stop him, it was over her head and discarded to the floor. Then his fingers were at the clasp to her bra. She gasped. _Too soon!_ She needed some time to digest everything that was happening.

She managed to deflect him before he could release the clasp and delayed him further by removing his shirt, which he aided eagerly. Sakura leaned in to kiss him again, but paused at the sight of his body. She had never seen him without a shirt before and though her drunken courage was waning fast, it still allowed her to take some time to appreciate him, with her hands. As a medic she always had to keep naked, physical contact strictly professional, and now she was allowed to let her basal instincts run free for a change. She traced her finger along a scar that ran from his shoulder to the other side of his chest, watching a trail of goose bumps appear in its wake. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that the sudden, sharp pain in her back caught her by surprise. It made her yelp. _Did he just stab me?_ She looked up at Genma, but before she could complain he put a finger to her lips and shushed her. His intentions were soon made clear, when a wave of pleasure suddenly radiated from the pressure point and through her entire body. She moaned at the intensity of it. Genma took advantage of her lapse in composure and leaned in to kiss her again, sliding his hands to the clasp of her bra.

That was when Kakashi walked in.

Sakura only barely managed to cover herself in time, holding the bra in the front while the straps fell open on either side, but while she managed to save one kind of exposure, nothing could hide the flush in her face, which deepened with embarrassment. Of course, at this point there wasn't a drop of alcohol left in her that hadn't been processed by Genma's sober-up cocktail. Genma lifted her from his lap with as much ceremony as he would a sleeping cat and dropped her onto the adjacent chair. "Evening Kakashi," he said casually, biting his lip to stifle a grin.

"Evening," Kakashi replied. He walked past them, crouched beside one of the beds and pulled out a small cache, from which he retrieved some money. "Did Sakura fill you in about the drug?" he asked.

Genma nodded. "You got a lead?"

Sakura had just managed to grab her shirt and pull it over her head. These two were skirting around the elephant in the room like it wasn't even there.

"My lead just showed up at Jade Moon, yes," Kakashi replied, standing up and stowing the money away in a side pocket. He looked at Sakura like he was going to say something, but apparently thought better of it and bade them both a good evening.

Genma collapsed against the table and let out the laugh he'd been holding as soon as Kakashi was out of sight. "Ah fuck." He said, holding a hand over his mouth.

* * *

 _A/N: I promise not to deviate from the original pairing! This scene is part of my convoluted plan to make things complicated and awkward for all the parties involved.  
_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I never believed I'd get a whole afternoon to myself, with the house being so full of people and all. I decided to take full advantage, given that this opportunity may not present itself again for a few more days. Thanks so much for the reviews!  
_

* * *

Kuma-san. He was an inmate with long, greasy dark hair that hung limp over a gaunt face and deep set eyes. He was the common room troll, and while he may have been feared by the other inmates, he was often a great source of entertainment for Kakashi. Kuma's surprise today was a cockroach he'd found in the kitchens, which he decided to throw down the shirt of an inmate known to be mortally afraid of insects. Chaos ensued, of course, and Kakashi had to chase Kuma around the room in order to detain him for punishment. Kuma may have been doped up on meds, but he was fast, and nothing stood in his way, be it tables, furniture or other inmates. More than once Kakashi resisted the habitual instinct to grab a kunai to stall his target, as he would have in the field.

Kuma made the mistake of trying to use Sakura as a springboard to climb the curtain, which resulted in a hard punch to the face and drew Kakashi's fun for the day to an abrupt halt. The copy-nin caught the limp man before he could hurt himself more and carried him out of the common room, grunting an ungrateful 'thank you' to Sakura.

Once the Kuma-san was safely in solitary confinement, Kakashi returned to see two nurses going around the room either righting furniture, or consoling rattled inmates. Sakura seemed oblivious to what was going on, sitting as she had been on the couch and failing miserably at solving a wooden puzzle. It was not that she couldn't figure out how the pieces went together, Kakashi was sure, but that she lacked the dexterity in her shaking hands needed to hold the pieces together. He wondered if she was managing her sanity any better.

Kakashi stood aside for the meds trolley, which made him look up at the time. At least the chaos this afternoon had made the last hour melt away quickly. The man pushing the trolley looked like he belonged among the inmates. He had an oddly shaped head that looked too large for his body and he wore square spectacles upon an equally square face. He ignored Kakashi as he pushed the trolley to the front of the room and inmates began to shuffle towards it. The square faced man parked the trolley and allowed one of the nurses to take over, who started putting various pills and capsules together in plastic cups.

"He's friendly, isn't he?" Kakashi commented as the man walked past him without another word.

"His name is Yuu," the nurse replied without looking up. She was carefully dispensing the liquid medication from large glass bottles. "He's been working here for a few years, but took ill last month with kidney problems."

That explained the man's pallor, Kakashi thought. Deciding that the area around the trolley was getting a bit crowded, Kakashi moved to his usual spot against the wall, from where he watched the procession carefully for any more signs of potential entertainment.

Chika got up from beside Sakura and sashayed across the room towards the trolley, where the nurse gave her a cup full of pills and another full of brown liquid. Chika downed all of it expertly and snapped the dirty cups down against the surface of the trolley, wiping her mouth with the other arm. Her eyes were fixed on Kakashi the whole time, who didn't have a book in hand to use as faux preoccupation. She made for him, but just before she could settle beside him against the wall, the nurse barked an order for her to go back to her couch.

"I'll be in the bathroom in half an hour," she whispered into Kakashi's ear as she passed him. She glanced back over her shoulder and winked at him before returning to her place next to Sakura, who was fluffing her wild pink hair in frustration at the puzzle. She'd missed the exchange this time, but Kakashi was well aware of how the kunoichi had upended a table the last time Chika propositioned him. He was able to get out of Chika's proposition on the pretense of taking Sakura to the steam rooms that night, but he wondered how he would do it again without putting the blonde off completely. He wasn't all that interested in having his way with Chika, though she did have a body worth his attention. He was, however, aware of her potential as an informant and didn't want to burn his bridges with her either. In other words, he wasn't interested in her, but he didn't want her to know that in case he needed her later. He had Rika to keep him occupied in the meantime.

And speaking of Rika, she had delivered the other night; a little bag of blue powder as he'd hoped. The psychiatric student had offered him a hit and he pretended to accept it at first. He then acted like he'd changed his mind because he had an early shift the next morning and gave it back, but not before stowing a small sample for Sakura to test. That had been two days ago; the same night he'd walked in on her and Genma. No amount of Rika that night could still the storm in his gut, or the images of the kunoichi that violated his mind. He still wasn't sure what he was feeling about all of this, but it was intense enough to make him want to be as far away from Sakura as possible. What he did know, amidst all this confusion, was that he found security in being able to predict people, and to predict people, he needed to know them. The events over the last few weeks had suddenly made him feel like he didn't know Sakura at all anymore.

The kunoichi grunted loudly and dropped the puzzle, allowing all her hard work to scatter across the floor.

xxx

Sakura sat at Dr Nakamura's desk, carefully tapping at the matchbox in her presently stable hands. Genma's gift had been a godsend for days like these. The matchbox had been given to the doctor this morning by Kakashi, saying that he suspected it was Serotex. There was only a tiny pinch of powder and Sakura worked as much of it into the corner of the matchbox as she could while the doctor fetched a test tube from down the hall.

Kakashi could easily have given it to her by hand, and so Sakura could tell that giving the box to the doctor instead was used purely as an avoidance tactic. Of course, she couldn't read his mind and dabbled with several possible reasons for his distance, but she concluded in the end that it probably came down to disappointment. Likely he was embarrassed to be associated with her, being his former student and all. Perhaps it reflected badly on him.

Other than the awkward intimate moment they had against the steel cupboard, she was deeply ashamed at how she had behaved. She had completely lost her composure when the alarm tripped, and had practically squealed when the guards walked in, which fortunately worked in her favor at the time, but it could have been a disaster. Sure, she was usually high strung, but not to this extent. She knew it was the meds; she had never been so jittery and anxious before in her life, but did Kakashi know that? Or had he chalked it up to gross incompetence? Her indiscretion with Genma had been mortifying and in her mind, it screamed desperation. If she was honest, seeing herself from the outside, she would never allow herself into ANBU.

The doctor returned to the office and handed Sakura the test tube, into which she tipped the pinch of blue powder. She went on to add an alcohol solution and an activator and whirled the test tube around to mix it all together. The result was a rather uninteresting milky liquid, but that was not all this procedure involved. She had been serious when she told Kakashi that testing for the powder was complicated. She needed to heat the solution to a very specific temperature, keep it there for exactly a minute and then cool it down suddenly; something that would be difficult to achieve even with lab equipment. She, of course, had chakra, which she knew exactly how to use to achieve the results she needed. It was a technique designed and perfected by her shishou.

Sakura watched carefully as the temperature inside the test tube dropped, and was eventually rewarded with the solution turning clear and then hardening into a firm gel. Turned out this gel was quite effective at calming injured patients about to endure unavoidably painful procedures, at least, that was until Serotex was banned for its addictive qualities. If the powder was anything but Serotex, the solution would not have changed at all.

"Looks like the next step is to find a dealer then," the doctor said, taking the test tube from Sakura and examining its contents. "How did your warden come across this in the first place?"

"He wouldn't say," Sakura replied. She was removing the needles from her arms, which were burning with pins and needles at this point. Kakashi's refusal to let her know about where he'd seen the powder was still a sore point.

"Well, I will arrange to speak with him," the doctor said, apparently choosing to ignore the bitterness in Sakura's voice. "We find the dealer, we might find the person responsible for the deaths."

Sakura stood up to excuse herself, but the doctor stalled her, asking her to take a seat once more. "I have a request," she said, hiding the test tube away behind a row of books on the bookshelf. "I have to see a really difficult patient this evening and I think I'm going to need some back up."

"But, my mission…"

"It's not one of the patients in this section," the doctor reassured. "One of my specialties is schizophrenia, and one such patient arrived two weeks ago. They're keeping him in the mountain."

"So he's dangerous then," Sakura said.

"A rogue nin, to be precise," Dr Nakamura replied. "A very high price tag on his head in the bingo books. It's likely you've heard of him even."

Sakura arched an eyebrow.

"He has a frightening ability that involves making your organs explode inside your body without even touching you," the doctor said, "all he needs…"

"Is one drop of blood," Sakura finished. "I know him," she added. "Bloodbath Tetsuya."

"You understand now why I need you?" the doctor asked. "He is deeply disturbed. Claims he hears the voices of demons that tell him to kill people and, last night, the demons apparently told him to commit suicide, only, it didn't work. He's critical, but stable and I need to talk to him about what happened, but if we try to restrain him, he might bleed to death."

"So?" Sakura replied harshly. "Do have any idea what he has done…?"

"I know very well," the doctor replied. "But it's not my job to mete out justice, it's to find ways to treat people who are mentally ill."

Sakura deliberated for a while, but decided that it couldn't hurt to help. No one in the mountain would recognize her from inside her part of the institution. There was just one small inconsistency…

"Why not a warden?" she asked?

"He won't talk if he feels threatened," the doctor replied. "If I bring you along pretending to be a 'nurse on standby' he's more likely to open up."

Sakura took a deep breath and consented. She wasn't sure if the doctor loved her job enough to die for it, or if she really had no idea just how dangerous this rogue really was.

xxx

Sakura had been instructed to stage a scene late that afternoon, one that would constitute solitary confinement long enough to justify her absence while she visited the mountain. She deliberated on how to begin, but her excuse came along in the form of Kuma-san, and this afternoon he had chosen to torment a quiet, buck toothed teenager who was working hard at her coloring book. Kuma was sitting next to her pretending to help her finish it, but of course, was getting her all riled up instead. Sakura got up and marched up to the offending inmate, ignoring Chika's questions about where she was going. She approached Kuma from behind and yanked him around by his shoulder. "What the fuck you doing, asshole?" she asked.

Kuma's mouth split his face in a foul grin full of yellow teeth. "Are you jealous, pinky?"

The bucktoothed teenager cowered and took the opportunity to gather the coloring book closer.

"You don't have the stones to bully me," Sakura growled.

Kuma eyes raked the length of Sakura's body lasciviously before meeting her gaze again. "Oh, I've been saving some special treatment just for you," he replied, licking his lips.

Sakura's skin crawled with revulsion. "I dare you," she said.

Kuma didn't need to be asked twice, and his hand made straight for the swell of her ass, but it never made it there. He let out a howl when Sakura caught him by the wrist and twisted it back painfully. Chika began to cheer.

"Break it up you two," Genma called from across the room. There had been no time to give him a heads up, but Sakura was sure he'd know what to do.

"He started it!" Sakura yelled back. She was just about to ease her grip when Kuma grabbed her sleeve with his other hand. She reacted instinctively, gripping his arm and throwing him over her head. He landed flat on his back with a thud and Sakura was about to crouch low to deliver a ground and pound when Genma caught her mid height around the waist and pulled her away. "You know what happens when you disobey a warden," he said firmly.

"What about him?" Sakura cried.

"He'll get what he deserves in due time," Genma replied.

Sakura made some attempts at escaping his grip, but gave up when he threatened to 'sedate' her. He led her down the corridor and as soon as they were able to drop the act, Sakura was immediately accosted with awkward memories of what they had done together a few nights ago. She had to use chakra to control the blush that threatened to envelope her face.

"You got a job this afternoon?" Genma asked casually.

"A favour for the doc, actually," she said.

A long, awkward silence followed, which Genma eventually broke. "Okay, well, I'd better get back to my post," he said.

"Sure," Sakura replied, pretending to be intensely interested in the new tear in her sleeve.

xxx

The mountain was expectedly as cold and uninviting inside as it was outside. Sakura kept close to the doctor as she led her through a maze of stone tunnels lit overhead by sharp lights. One could tell that the mountain was at least four storeys high by the rows of windows, but Sakura had no idea it went so deep underground as well, and she felt the temperature drop significantly as they descended several floors. They finally reached their target ward and Sakura could tell immediately which cell they were to enter. They passed several identical heavy steel doors before approaching a group of wardens all stationed outside the one that held Bloodbath Tetsuya. Sakura found guards' unnerved expressions unsettling and felt her stomach turn at the sight of a muzzle in one of their hands. They greeted both Sakura and the doctor politely before standing back to let the women past. Sakura was dressed in a nurse's uniform, much like the ones worn in her section of the institution. She'd also taken the time to brush her hair. The doctor waited while one of the guards unlocked the heavy steel door and allowed both her and Sakura through. Sakura jumped when the door slammed shut behind them, and the metallic clinking of a lock being turned made her cold. They were now at the mercy of an extremely dangerous rogue nin.

Sakura turned her head and had to supress a gasp at the sight before her. Bloodbath Tetsuya sat, or rather, slumped in a large steel chair that faced an equally industrial looking table. He was covered from head to toe in bandages, some of which had already bled through. She also noticed two long chains connected to the wall behind him that would normally be cuffed to his wrists, but today they rested uselessly on the floor. Apparently the slightest pressure on his wrists could cause him to bleed to death. Had he been less sinister, Sakura would have loved to bring him back to Tsunade, who could try to establish why it was so difficult to heal him. Perhaps the blood line limit that made him able to burst the organs of his opponents also made him vulnerable in this way. Her thoughts came to a grinding halt when Tetsuya looked up at them.

"Good afternoon," the doctor said to the rogue nin. "How are you feeling?"

Sakura bit her lip. It was pretty obvious that he was in a lot of pain; the evidence manifesting as a look of utter exhaustion on his face. For a brief moment she even felt sorry for him.

"Well, look who it is," Tetsuya replied. His voice gravelly, but not without a note of sass in it. "I see you have company."

"A nurse," the doctor said, gesturing to Sakura. "She's here to help in case your condition deteriorates during this session."

Tetsuya laughed. "You mean that I try to kill myself again?" he asked. "Don't worry honeystick, I'm no good to Ruzen dead."

"So he's back, is he?" the doctor asked.

"'Course he's back," Tetsuya replied, sitting up carefully and easing back into his chair. His grey vest was covered in blood. Even in this much pain he could still be so intimidating. He had the body of a machine, skin covered in fine scars and a brush cut of dark blonde hair. In every way, he looked like an average fighter; it was his eyes that gave away his true nature, and the overwhelmingly strong chakra. "Ruzen never left in the first place," he sneered. "All your quack drugs did was block my connection to him."

"Is he with you right now?" the doctor asked, ignoring the hostility.

"He's always with me," Tetsuya replied. "He's with me when I eat, when I sleep, when I fuck, when I jerk off and when I shit too."

"And he told you to do this to yourself?"

Tetsuya nodded. "It's punishment for taking the drugs you gave me." He looked over to Sakura. "So you're here to make me feel better are ya?"

Sakura took a deep breath through her nose, but didn't answer.

The doctor tried to intervene; "My assistant…."

"I hurt all over, baby," Tetsuya said over Dr Nakamura. "Every part of my body. If you wanna help me, you can start right here," he grabbed his crotch firmly and a vile smirk spread across his pained face.

The blush caught Sakura before she could use her chakra to stop it.

"That is enough!" Dr Nakamura shouted. "We are here to help you, but I need you to cooperate."

"Ha!" Tetsuya retorted. "Look what happened the last time I let you help me." He began to unwrap one of the bandages around his right arm.

"Tetsuya, please stop." The doctor said.

"Or what?" Tetsuya taunted. "Or you'll get your little body guard to apprehend me?"

Sakura's stomach turned.

"Don't think I can't see it," Tetsuya said. "She's no nurse; she reeks of chakra."

"I never said she wasn't anything more," the doctor said. "She's a trained medic."

Tetsuya stopped unwrapping the bandage. "You in ANBU?" he asked Sakura.

Sakura shook her head. "Just…Just a medic," she stammered. "A field medic."

Tetsuya snorted. "I'm sure all the teams pick you first for missions," he said. "I'm sure you come to good use on cold nights…"

"Tetsuya, I cannot help you while you're sassing my assistant," the doctor interrupted. "I want you to tell me why Ruzen told you to do this to yourself."

Tetsuya's gaze switched to the doctor. "I already told ya," he said, "punishment for taking you anti-psycho shit." His gaze went back to Sakura. The yellow pupils made her think of an injured predator.

"And what would he do to you if you didn't listen?" the doctor asked.

Tetsuya pulled his gaze away from Sakura reluctantly. It was clear that he was getting agitated. "Tell you what," he said. "You come here and I whisper it in your ear."

"Forget it," the doctor replied. "I already trust you enough to be in in the same room with you without restraints." She nodded her head in the direction of the cuffs on the floor that should have been around his wrists.

Tetsuya laughed. "Trust? You brought your little body guard here with you in case I, I dunno, snapped or something."

"Can you blame me?" the doctor asked.

Tetsuya shrugged. "I suppose. I only kill who Ruzen tells me to kill. So far you two haven't pissed him off enough, apparently. Though you, doc, are skating on thin ice."

"For giving you the drugs?"

"Yes."

"And what will he do to you if you stop listening to him?"

Tetsuya sighed. "You think I'm too doped up to remember that you've already asked that question?'' He rolled his eyes. "He'll possess my body, doc," he said. "Right now he's allowing me to have control over it, but if I piss him off enough, he'll take it from me. And if you think I've been bad before…?" He smiled ironically. "Then you have another think coming."

The doctor sighed. "I will find a way to help you, Tetsuya. Whether you let me or not."

"Aw, you're too kind, doc," Tetsuya replied sarcastically. "There's a special place in heaven just for you. Next time, bring her too," he added, pointing at Sakura. "She makes for a good wank _."  
_

* * *

 _A/N: Lame bingo name is lame, I know. If anyone is willing to offer a better nick than 'Bloodbath Tetsuya' I'll gladly consider it._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Longer chapter than usual, with some little bit lemonz :)_

* * *

It had been two days and Sakura was still battling to shake her experience with Tetsuya. It was one thing dealing with a creature like that on the battle field, and quite another in a mental institution. On a mission, that man would have been dead in a heartbeat, at least, if she could have things her way he would be. She wouldn't have given a second thought as to why he might have been the way he was, and while she would have expected his lewd behaviour during the interview to bother her intensely, it was actually the realisation that he was still human that was keeping her awake tonight. Any other day, she would have called his schizophrenia a dumb con, but she trusted Dr Nakamura's judgement and in the space of fifteen minutes, Tetsuya went from being a monster to a victim of his illness. How was she supposed to mete out ruthless judgement upon her enemies now? What if all of them were simply victims of their circumstances and not inherently evil after all? It would come down to 'kill, or be killed' in the end, she supposed.

"Do you want out?" she asked Chika, who had been tossing and turning incessantly for over an hour.

"Oh, you're still awake?"

"Yep," Sakura replied. "You wanna hunt rats in the kitchen again?"

"Oh, no," Chika replied. "I've just been thinking, you know, about what it's like outside."

"Well right now it's dark and windy," Sakura said. "Perhaps it will rain tomorrow…"

"No, not like that," Chika said. "I mean _life_ outside, you know, like going to work, feeding the cat, cooking dinner, hanging up the washing."

"You mean all the boring stuff," Sakura said.

"Easy for you to say," Chika said, "You've only been here over a month."

Sakura shrugged, "Even for you I think that kind of thing will lose its appeal pretty quickly."

"Oh, to have a boyfriend, to have sex, get married, maybe even kids," Chika sighed.

Now that was more interesting stuff, Sakura thought. Only those were things she would have to give up if she wanted to join ANBU, except the sex maybe, but she didn't think herself capable of doing that outside of a relationship anyway.

"Maybe if I work really hard to prove myself they'll consider letting me out again," Chika said. "I think I've made at least a little progress lately."

Sakura yawned, suddenly she wasn't so wide awake anymore, and Chika's talk about mundane life outside the institution wasn't helping. "You think you'll be able to keep up your meds by yourself?" Sakura asked.

"If it meant being independent again," Chika said, "I think I could. I gave up far too easily last time."

"That's just the thing," Sakura said. "Life outside is hard, and fucking complicated if you ask me."

"Is it worse than being lonely?" Chika asked, "And bored?"

"Imagine being lonely, _and_ having to deal with your own washing and cleaning," Sakura said.

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like fun at all," Chika agreed.

Sakura's heart sank, she had just unwittingly described her own life, at least before she made the decision to join ANBU. She'd traded missions for the hospital, she lived alone in her flat and most of her peers were either married or at least in serious relationships. She didn't visit them much because it really sucked being a third wheel. She spent her free time watching TV or doing crosswords. Her life had become a never ending cycle of monotony. "Trust me, life outside is nothing special," she said.

xxx

The laundry facility was largely empty when Kakashi walked in, save for an old woman scrubbing away methodically at her basin. This was one of about four laundry rooms in the residence complex, and this one was shared between White Ash and Red Pine. It had three rows of basins and benches in the main area, and behind it was a wind tunnel, where the washing could be hung up to dry. Kakashi dropped his duffel bag onto the bench and began to pull his dirty clothes out of it. It was made up mostly of his warden's uniforms, which were made of heavy duty cotton and thus a bitch to get dry. He dumped the clothes into the basin and began to fill it with water. "Dammit!" he exclaimed, "I forgot the fucking washing powder."

A man sitting in the far corner perked up at Kakashi's expletive, just as Kakashi expected he would. Apparently this was the code used to obtain a pack of special blue powder, and not the detergent type.

Rika had shown up at Jade Moon again last night. Kakashi actually hadn't been in the mood for her, but then reminded himself that he was on a mission, and that this girl had something he needed to aid its completion. A few drinks later, they found themselves back at her place where he was able to convince her to spill the details about her dealer. That had been after she was lying spent on the bed beside him, purring a series of compliments into his ear. There was something incredibly unsatisfying about fucking someone who was high when you weren't. Kakashi knew that if this mission got any more complicated, he would have to take the drug eventually so that he could pretend to high on it. He would delay that as far as possible though; what if he liked it? Then what?

Kakashi pretended to glance around the laundry room when the man in the corner lifted his arm to get his attention. Kakashi walked over to him and saw that this man was indeed selling washing powder, and a variety of them too. The man gestured to the boxes on display and started to name their prices when Kakashi interreupted him, "I'd like a box of lavender powder," he said. "With a little extra." It was that last phrase that told the man what he really wanted. After a careful assessment, the man decided that Kakashi was safe enough and he reached into a small cupboard from which he retrieved a real box of lavender powder. Kakashi gave him the correct amount of money and the man counted it twice before closing the deal. "Careful when you use it," the man said, "this stuff flows out fast." In other words, 'don't tip it too hard because the bag of Serotex might come out of it'.

Now came the boring part; actually washing clothes.

xxx

Sakura found Genma quickly inside Numa Suki, and she made for his table. It was the second time she'd spent an evening with him since their almost sexual encounter and it got a little less awkward each time. Sakura attributed that largely to Genma's amazing ability to pretend like it had never happened at all. He'd stopped touching her though, and made no move to use her as a deterrent for potential suitors.

Sakura had reached the conclusion that hanging out in this tea house was largely a waste of time, at least, as far as the mission was concerned, but she was starting to suffocate a little in the institution. Kakashi had essentially volunteered to deal with the source of the Serotex, and Sakura decided it wasn't worth arguing with him about it. Someone she could still argue with, however, was Genma, and she was determined to find out how Kakashi was getting his intel. The alcohol was helping.

"He met a psych student at Jade Moon," Genma said at last. Apparently deciding that it would not hurt to divulge the information. "Turned out she uses the drug to destress."

"How did he know she was taking the powder?" Sakura asked. Perhaps he'd used his Sharingan or something.

"He didn't know," Genma replied, taking a sip of his beer. "He took her home and that was when she offered him some."

Sakura frowned. "Took her home to do what, exactly?"

Genma grinned. "Use your imagination."

"But she's a _student_ ," Sakura cried, "That would make her what, nineteen, twenty?"

"So?"

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but choked on the words instead. Genma was right. As long as the girl was legal, what did it matter? What he chose to do with his dick was his own business in the end… but a _student_? And just for the fun of it? Suddenly the age gap between her and her former sensei wasn't so big at all any more.

"Age didn't stop you jumping me the other night," Genma added. It made Sakura blush instantly.

"That was different!" she cried. It had been different. She was using Genma for experience points, nothing more. "I was drunk."

Genma laughed. "Yep, so was I. Good thing we were interrupted."

Sakura sighed. She just wished that they could have been interrupted by someone else instead.

A group of guards walked into the tea house and took a seat nearby. There was something familiar about one of them, but Sakura couldn't pin it to anything just yet. To be safe, she kept her face hidden in case he recognised her from inside the institution.

"A very odd guy moved in next to us the other day," Genma said, apparently hoping to change the subject.

"Yes?" Sakura replied, "In what way is he odd?"

"Just, I don't know, reserved and clinical I guess," Genma said. "I broke the bathroom mirror yesterday and he came rushing in to see if I was okay."

"You broke the bathroom mirror?"

"Yes," Genma replied. "I closed the cabinet and it just slipped off, like the glue had just disappeared. I tried to catch it but I cut myself instead." He lifted his arm to check the scar.

"I could have healed that for you," Sakura said.

"I suppose," Genma replied. "But that poor man looked like a ghost with so much blood all over the place. I had to heal it before he passed out."

"How would it be odd that he came in to help you?" Sakura asked.

"Well, he seemed frightened of all the blood at first, but then insisted on cleaning up the mirror and disposing of it for me. Then he just flung it into a bin bag and walked out. It was very strange."

"Look around," Sakura said, "we're at a mental institution."

Genma shrugged. "Yeah, true." He put his empty bottle down on the table. "You want another drink?"

Sakura accepted and Genma got up to fetch another round. As soon as Genma reached the bar, the familiar looking guard got up and approached him. After they both turned around to look straight at Sakura more than once, she began to worry that her identity had been compromised and she chose to look down instead, or at least, hide her face as much as possible and steal quick glances at them to gauge the situation. _Was Genma looking angry?_ Eventually the men concluded their conversation and Genma marched back to the table looking very unimpressed. Sakura looked up in time to see the guard take his seat at the table next to her. He was gloating, and he aimed that vile smirk straight back at her. That was when she recognised him….

"What the fuck Mayu?" Genma shouted, loud enough for the gloating guard to hear. "I turn my back for a second!"

Sakura knew exactly what to do. "I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Does a pink wig ring a bell?" Genma asked. He was leaning over her now, his eyes on fire. "Quick visits to a secret filing room maybe?"

Sakura didn't need to jutsu a blush; that happened all by itself. "I still don't know…"

"Don't play coy with me!"

Patrons began to turn in their seats to see what was going on. "Fine!" Sakura shouted, standing up to square off with the angry jonin. "Maybe if you just appreciated me a little I wouldn't need to find someone else to do the job."

"Well maybe if you stopped being such a bitch!"

"Well maybe if you stopped drinking so much!"

It was obvious that Genma was struggling to keep a straight face. "Well maybe if you stopped being such a slut!"

 _Slut? Had he just called her a slut?_ Pretend fight or not, that comment burned. Sakura picked up her drink and flung it into Genma's face, which gave her just enough time to declare that she was leaving and get the hell out of there before he could make another retort. She glanced over at the gloating guard. He looked like a cat who'd got the cream. She made a mental note to get him back somehow.

Sakrua allowed the burning grin to spread across her face the second Numa Suki was behind her. How bizarre, that hers and Kakashi's fake kiss had come round to bite her later. That guard had been one of the three that caught them in the archives room, and Genma's comment about a pink wig meant that her genjutsu of dark hair was still working. This also meant that Genma knew about what had happened in the archives room now, and it made Sakura feel more than a little embarrassed. Had Kakashi also mentioned how badly she'd failed at it too? And then out of desperation she'd tried to garner some experience on the special jonin afterwards?

She would have a serious word with herself when she got back to the institution. She wasn't behaving like ANBU material at all, and if she failed this mission, it would serve her right.

The hallways were expectedly quiet this time of night. Sakura crept along silently and cast a quick glance through the doorway to the kitchen to check if Chika might have fallen asleep at the prep table again. The room was empty.

Sakura gently unlocked the door to her room and padded inside, careful not to wake her roommate. She leaned over Chika's bed but….it was empty. That was odd. There were only two places where Chika might have been at this time, and she wasn't in either of them. Sakura froze. Where on earth could the mad blonde be?

xxx

An increasingly strong wind wove its way through the sparse vegetation that surrounded the compound. It was a strong indication that there was some rain on its tail, and not a light rain either. Kakashi sat quietly against a small tree, gnawing at the sweet end of a grass stalk while he watched the sun disappear behind the horizon. Sakura would arrive about an hour after dark, or at least, that's what time Dr Nakamura said she would meet him. Doubtless it was about the little bag of Serotex he'd dropped off three days ago. Perhaps Sakura had an important lead that would finally put him out of his misery. This mission was really starting to suck and, not for the first time, he wished for someone like Anko or Kurenai as a partner. Fuck, even Tenten would have done a better job. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that every time Sakura was confronted with a moral dilemma she'd choose the option that would appease her conscience, rather than the one that would progress the mission.

Look at what he'd done with Rika. At first she was just as a distraction; something to pass the time, but later she was able offer a valuable lead. He could see early on that she wanted something more than casual sex, and that she would have wanted to carry on seeing one another after she finished her studies at the reformatory. It would have been humane to cast her back the second she showed signs of attachment, but he kept her for the sake of the mission, leading her down a path that would likely crush her heart. Could Sakura ever bring herself to do something like that? Did it bother Kakashi that he could? Kakashi did have a conscience, actually, but ANBU had taught him how to muzzle it and lock it away where he couldn't see it for a while. It was only when he got home that he would let it out again to torture him, which he would field with dirty reading material. It was time to light the pile of kindling he'd gathered from around the compound; the rain would come soon enough to put the fire out later.

Sakura appeared bang on time, as expected. In this light, all he could see was her silhouette at first, cresting the hill behind him. She was wearing the one piece cleaners' overalls he'd lent her for their visit to the archives room. He had to give it to her; she had a good brain in her head. And she made a stellar jonin, when she took the time to leave the hospital for the odd mission here and there. It was just ANBU. Why the fuck had she become so fixated with ANBU? It was really simple; some people were suited to it, and some just weren't.

"She's gone, Kaka-sensei," Sakura said as soon as she was in earshot. That was when he could see that she'd been crying.

Kakashi coaxed Sakura to sit at the fire with him and she went on to lament about what happened after she got home from Numa Suki. Chika wasn't anywhere to be seen and the next morning she didn't appear in the common room either. That evening, Dr Nakamura contacted her to say that Chika had died of a seizure. Just like that. It had happened while Sakura was at Numa Suki, drinking and enjoying herself. The poor girl had died alone, in her room.

"The warning signs were there," Sakura said, attempting to wipe the tears with her sleeve. "She was talking about leaving; a life outside the institution. It was so fucking obvious and all I could think about at the time was myself and how depressing my life had become."

What could Kakashi say? Sakura really fucked up. "Have they done an autopsy?" he asked. He should probably have reached out to console her a little, and in all honesty, he really wanted to, but she was being tested for ANBU, and in ANBU, no one gave each other hugs.

Sakura shook her head. "They kept her in the morgue overnight," she said, "and when they wanted to start the autopsy, the body was gone."

"Fuck," Kakashi spat. "Could the doctor not have bothered to tell you sooner?"

"She didn't know," Sakura said. "She only found out that Chika was dead after the body disappeared."

"Well, at least the people responsible don't know that you're trying to catch them out," Kakashi said after a long silence. "Because they would not have chosen your roommate otherwise."

Sakura sniffed and dried her face with renewed determination. Looked like she was done crying for now. "Let's face it, Kaka-sensei. I'm not cut out for this."

Kakashi's eyes widened. Had she finally come to her senses?

"But I'm not ready to give up on this mission just yet," she said,

 _Dammit_.

"I may not be ANBU material, but I don't want this to haunt me for the rest of my life. I have one last idea and if this doesn't work, then we call it quits."

"Okay?" Kakashi asked tentatively. "What do you have in mind?"

"All drugs manipulate chakra in some way," Sakura said. "I might not be able to see chakra like the Hyuugas can, but as a trained medic I can feel it when I touch someone."

"That's a useful ability to have," Kakashi said.

Sakura whipped out the little bag of blue powder that Kakashi had procured for her from the laundry room. "I've tested some of it," she said. "It's legit."

"Right," Kakahsi replied. "I'll start tailing that dealer from tomorrow."

"Until then, I need to find out how it works," Sakura said, "If I had known how this stuff made people feel and behave sooner, I might have been able to save Chika." She rolled the bag around in her palm. "I just don't know how to take it."

"You snort it," Kakashi replied. "You take a tiny pinch and…" the blank look on Sakura's face told him that this was going way over her head. "Let me show you." He took the bag from Sakura and sprinkled a small dose on the flat of his hand, between his thumb and index finger.

Sakura took the bag and did the same, taking care to imitate the size of the dose and the shape of the line. Then she hesitated. "I'm nervous," she said.

"Don't worry," Kakashi assured her, dusting his portion back into the bag. "I'm here to watch you in case you have a bad trip or something. This little fire is good for a few hours at least." He poked at the embers with a long stick to illustrate his point.

Sakura chewed her lip. "Do it with me. Please."

Kakashi shook his head. "What if we both have a bad trip?"

"It's not an hallucinogen," Sakura said. "It just alters the happy chemicals in your brain."

"I know," Kakashi replied.

"So what are you afraid of?"

Kakashi twisted his mouth. "That I'll like it," he said honestly.

Sakura glanced at the powder and then back at him. "Please?"

Kakashi sighed and dipped his fingers back into the tiny bag. At least she'd acknowledged that she wasn't cut out for the elite; perhaps she deserved to be indulged. "You ready?" he asked.

"I guess…"

Kakashi hooked the finger of his free hand against the hem of his scarf and pulled it down, exposing his face for the first time to his student. He couldn't resist a glance in her direction to see that she was gawking openly at him. He wanted to laugh. So many people had seen his face, and it was only when he realised that it had become an obsession amongst his students that he deliberately kept it a secret from them. He knew he'd have to expose himself sooner or later, and tonight was the night. He held up his powdered hand in a 'itadakimasu' gesture and snorted the blue line up his nose. It had a sharp, uncomfortable sensation, and it made his eyes water.

Sakura followed suit and seemed to manage well enough, though she got a little on her cheek. Kakashi rubbed his nose to relieve the irritation and then they waited for whatever was meant to hit them.

It was like a burst of sunshine; a delicious warmth that radiated from somewhere in his chest, casting tendrils of pleasure that wound their way through his limbs and lapped at his hands and feet. He rolled his eyes back and sighed softly while Sakura let out a long moan. She must have been feeling the same way. The growing tightness in his crotch reminded him that Rika had called this a sex drug.

It must have taken all of five minutes for Kakashi to realise that this was not the kind of drug one could just sit back and enjoy, and he started fidgeting, first by playing with his hands, and he then tried to channel it into turning the coals in the fire. The incessant tapping on Sakura's side indicated that she was having the same problem.

"I want to touch you," Sakura said, gazing ahead at the dark horizon.

Kakashi swallowed. Given what was going on down south that was not the greatest idea right now. "Um, why, exactly?"

"I want to feel what's going on with your chakra."

It was an innocent enough suggestion. "I thought you could feel that for yourself in your own body," he replied. He had to try at least.

"Yes," she said, "I can, but it would help if I could experience what it feels like on someone else."

Another bullet, just when he thought he'd dodged the first one. "But surely it can't be accurate if you're high?" Did he sound as calm and collected as he hoped?

Sakura shrugged. "Maybe not. I won't know until I try, though," she turned to look at him. "Why are you so reluctant?"

 _Because I'm feeling really fucking weird right now…_ "No, I didn't mean to come across that way," he said. "Come over, then." He patted the ground next to him.

Sakura shifted over tentatively. She was shaking, but then again, since she started taking Dr Nakamura's cocktail she'd always been shaking. And speaking of which…

"Shit, aren't you on other stuff as well," Kakashi said suddenly, "won't this drug make you sick?"

Sakura was sitting right up against him now, the body contact sending chills all over his body.

"It won't," she said softly. "I haven't taken my drugs for the last two days; they're mostly out of my system now." She reached out and gently touched his face; the face she had never seen until now. Kakashi inhaled sharply and Sakura flinched. "Does that hurt you?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Your hands are cold," he lied.

"Oh, sorry." She began to rub her hands together and held them over the fire. Kakashi felt his heart quicken. This wasn't going to go well for him.

Sakura put her hands back against his face. "This better?" she asked.

"No," he said honestly.

Sakura ignored him, choosing instead to run her hands down to his neck and under the collar of his uniform. There was no doubt she could feel his breathing change, and there was little he could do to hide it.

"This drug makes you quite sensitive, doesn't it?" Sakura said conversationally. "I've got tingles all over." She began to unbutton his shirt.

Kakashi grabbed her arm reflexively and looked up at her, pleading with his one eye for her to stop.

"I need to get to the source of your chakra," Sakura said, biting her lip nervously, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable…"

 _Aaargh! Understatement of the year_ , "Sorry, just a reflex," he said, looking down at where his hand gripped hers. _Fancy that, he was shaking too._ He let go reluctantly. "Let me do it," he said, turning away from Sakura. "It'll be quicker."

"Sure, okay," she replied, retreating to give him some space.

Initially he planned to undo the buttons really, really slowly, but in the end, he was only extending the torture, and so he quickened his pace, fumbling mainly because of the trembling in his hands. He slid his shirt over the back of his shoulders, leaving a thin vest between him and his former student, who was suddenly looking _very_ attractive right now.

"It'll be easier if I…" Sakura reached out awkwardly, but seemed to have found some inner confidence and in once swift movement she was straddling him. _Oh kami she's going to feel it…_

Sakura settled on her knees, choosing not to put any weight on his lap and thus sparing him that embarrassment, but then her hands were under his vest and it was like she was injecting liquid ecstasy into his body. He tossed his head back in spite of himself.

"You okay?" Sakura asked. "I have to send some of my own chakra into to you feel what yours is doing."

"Yeah," Kakashi choked, "I'm fine. Is this going to take much longer?"

"Tell me what you're feeling," Sakura said, running her hands gently over his abs and chest, pausing here and there at certain points.

"Like you said," Kakashi replied, "tingles."

"Everywhere, or just where I touch you?"

It was too much. He was going to explode. He grabbed Sakura's hands and pulled them out from under his vest, holding them firm by the wrists. Perhaps a little too firm. "If you keep touching me, Sakura-chan, I'm going to do things to you that we might both regret tomorrow."

The flush in Sakura's cheeks deepened a little, and she bit her lip. He'd seen her do that so many times, but right now, it was doing some serious damage to his resolve. "I'm going to let you go now…"

Her mouth was against his before he'd even loosened his grip, and he immediately pushed her back so that she was just too far to make contact. "Sakura, please," he whispered. "I don't have the strength to fight you…"

"Then don't."

Kakashi let go of Sakura's wrists and wrapped them around her waist instead, pulling her right up against him and causing her to drop down into his lap, which put pressure exactly where he wanted it. He moaned and she took the opportunity to kiss him again, except this time he let her in. He expected her to be gentle and timid, but she wasn't. Her tongue darted eagerly into his mouth and he reciprocated with as much vigour, worrying less about technique and more about satisfying an increasingly urgent need to be inside this young woman's body, in whatever way possible. Conscious, coherent thought dissolved into a sea of raw passion while his hands wove their way through her wild pink hair before working their way down to the buttons of her overalls. She began to rock against him, sending spikes of pleasure through his entire body. He wanted her so badly right now…

Sakura broke the kiss to lift his vest over his head. She paused for a second to admire her prize before choosing to discover it with her mouth instead. He gasped when her tongue found a nipple.

He managed to slide the top half of Sakura's overalls back over her shoulders, showing that she'd chosen to wear nothing but a bra underneath. Why girls insisted on wearing the damn things….

His hand found the V where the buttons of her overalls ended and snaked its way between where their bodies met, quickly finding that special button that made Sakura yelp. There were few things in the world better than hearing a woman melt at your touch. He began to massage gently when suddenly sensibility hit him on the head like an anvil. It sounded like this… "Oh kami, Kaka-sensei…"

Kakashi retracted his hands like he'd touched a hot plate, holding them above his head like a criminal that had been caught by the authorities.

Sakura blinked at him like a startled cat, "What are you doing?"

"This is madness," he said, resisting the intense urge to wrap his hands around that face and to kiss that swollen mouth and then to…. "You're my student for fuck sakes."

Sakura frowned, "Not anymore,"

"But you were," Kakashi replied. He could feel the strain in his voice; his resistance was teetering on a knife's edge. "Think of Chika! How would she feel if she knew...?"

Sakura was off him in a second, looking deeply ashamed of herself. That wasn't exactly what he wanted her to feel; the drug was entirely responsible for her behaviour, but he needed _something_ to kill this insane idea.

It was clear that Sakura was struggling to gather herself as much as he was, but managed to step back to create some distance between them, at which point she realised that she was half undressed and began to button up her overall again. Kakashi took the time to put his clothes back on as well.

"Did you manage to find what you needed with my, uh, chakra?" he asked, running his hand through his hair awkwardly. Actually, awkward was the wrong word. He would feel that tomorrow when he woke up. Right now he just wanted to rip her clothes off again and to pin her against that tree...

"Yes," Sakura replied. _Did she have to bite her lip like that?_ "I'd better go back to the reformatory."

The skies rumbled above them, followed shortly by a gentle patter of rain drops.

"You'd better hurry," Kakashi said, "it's going come down in sheets in a minute."

"You coming with me?" she asked.

"No," Kakashi replied, "I need to make sure this fire is dead…" _and to take advantage of the cold shower._


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Happy new year everyone! Sorry for the slow update, and for the really short chapter. The next section has to be on its own for it to work - in my mind at least. Thanks for all the reviews, favs and follows so far. I really appreciate them!_

* * *

Sakura had never been this upset at the sight of an empty bed. In fact, this is exactly what she'd hoped for when she was 'admitted' to Katoka reformatory; to have a room to herself. And now Chika was gone. Sakura could probably have prevented it by thinking to take the drug sooner. Perhaps if she had sensed the change in Chika's chakra, not only would she have been able to save her, but make significant headway with the mission as well. Now she was back to playing the waiting game; one that had already taken far too long in the first place.

There was some reprieve amidst all of this; her realisation that she was not ANBU material. It was a huge relief actually, not feeling like every little thing was some kind of test or some form of scrutiny anymore. Perhaps now that she'd told her former-sensei about her decision to throw in the towel, their relationship could get back to normal. Or could it?

Drug or no drug, they'd crossed a line last night. Pretending to be secret lovers in an archives room was one thing; there was no chemistry or any real inappropriate touching. Last night had been different… very different. It was so dark and she was so freaked out in the archives room that she did not see what was behind his scarf. Last night she was given the special opportunity to see her former sensei's face properly for the first time and now she couldn't shake the image from her mind. Save for a long scar on his good side, his skin was exquisite for a man in his line of work, and he had a wide, playful mouth that matched his personality perfectly, at least, the person she had come to know in her genin and chuunin years. He'd become a lot more stoic since he returned to ANBU. She touched her lip at the memory of what they had done last night.

She had known what was going on inside her body as soon as the drug hit; her doctor had briefed her about it after all, but she didn't know just how powerful it would be. The second she realised that she would need touch her former-sensei directly to feel his chakra she knew she was in trouble. In a matter of minutes he'd become _the_ most attractive living creature on the face of the earth, and she wanted nothing more than to have more of him. It was quite evident that he was struggling as much as she was. Had she taken advantage of him? Had she just simply succumbed to the effect of the drug before he did? He was obviously much stronger than she was; he'd managed to stop. It was almost painful, pulling apart from one another; it had forced the breath out of her and made her chest ache. He'd been clever to use Chika as a mood killer, because it was probably the only thing that would have worked. She still felt ashamed of herself; having her way with Kakashi barely before the blonde's body had gone cold. What kind of friend did that make her?

 _No friend at all_ , Sakura thought bitterly. If she was honest with herself, she and Chika were never really friends, because their relationship had been founded on the untruths Sakura had spun for the sake of the mission. That didn't stop her from missing the girl though, because while Sakura's story might have been fake, Chika's wasn't. Sakura sighed through another wave of heartache and ignored the tears that slid down her face and onto the pillow. If this was what being in ANBU felt like, she was glad to have given up on it. Now all she needed to do was finish this godforsaken mission and go back to her old, boring life.

xxx

"Fuck, Genma, I'd better get Sakura…"

Genma took a few deep breaths and held out one hand to tell his partner that he just needed a minute. "I'm fine," he said eventually. "Too much alcohol."

"That doesn't….oh kami." Genma started retching violently again while Kakashi held his partner's hair back. "That doesn't look like alcohol."

Genma looked up again and wiped his mouth. "Maybe it was something I ate…?

"Unless you ate glass or something, I can't see that being the problem," Kakashi said. "You're spewing up blood."

"I am, aren't I?" Genma said as though he'd just noticed it.

"That's it, I'm getting…"

Genma stopped him again. "It's okay, I feel much better already, really. I just need some water."

Kakashi stood back and allowed Genma to get up from his place over the toilet. He gaged the condition of his partner critically, but decided that other than being really pale, he wasn't showing any other signs of shock. Blood in the gut was alarming, but he was aware of less sinister causes; a stomach ulcer for example. "If you get sick one more time I'm calling her," Kakashi warned. He watched Genma walk over to the tiny kitchenette and tap himself a glass of water. Perhaps it wasn't an emergency after all.

There was some stirring outside the window and Kakashi opened the blind to see what was going on outside, but he couldn't see anything. Perhaps it was just a bird.

Genma started coughing and Kakashi turned around with renewed concern.

"I'm alright," he said quickly. "I'm on shift in the next hour anyway. I'll be close to Sakura in case I need help."

And there was that name; a name that stirred fire in his gut and a host of images that made him glad Genma wasn't a mind reader. The rush of blood to the south reminded him of how unfortunate his timing had been last night. He got home expecting Genma to be on shift and thus some privacy to take care of his needs, but, well, turned out one of their fellow wardens had asked Genma to swap shifts. Their tiny shower had a rather sheer curtain and so it couldn't keep any secrets either.

Genma had been looking a little pale when Kakashi returned, and after some enquiry, Genma admitted to have been drinking that evening. It was unusual for the special jonin to indulge so much, but then again, this had been a notably boring mission. What else was there to do?

"Aren't you on day shift too?" Genma asked.

Kakashi nodded. "All the better to keep an eye on you," he said.

xxx

Sakura stood outside the doctor's room wringing her hands nervously. She was back inside the mountain again, and just beyond the door ahead was the GP that took care of inmates' everyday needs. Apparently dangerous crazy people weren't immune to common colds and regular bumps and bruises, just like everyone else. Who knew?

Today Bloodbath Tetsuya's stitches were due to be removed, and Sakura's assistance was expressly requested. She jumped when the door opened and the doctor summoned her. She went inside reluctantly, but was pleased to see that the room was empty. The heavy door on the other end must have been where the inmates entered.

"He'll be heavily sedated," the doctor reassured Sakura. "You're really just a backup in case something goes wrong."

Sakura laughed nervously.

"It would be great if you could help me remove the stitches," the doctor continued. He was a short man, with dark hair and thick bushy eyebrows. "There are over five hundred of them."

Sakura believed him.

There was a gentle knock at the door from which Sakura had just entered and the doctor went to open it. It was Yuu, the strange medicine man from her section of the institution. Sakura immediately pretended to be preparing the tools for Tetsuya's procedure, taking care to hide her face. She was glad for her decision to genjutsu her hair dark. Apparently Yuu was there to deliver some pain medication for Tetsuya in case he needed it. The doctor thanked him and closed the door. "We only give him this if he really needs it," he said, holding up the bottle of green liquid.

"I doubt it," Sakura replied. "Shinobi are pretty good at dealing with pain."

"Not sure about this one," the doctor said, putting the bottle down. "He's been asking for this quite a lot."

Sakura frowned. Perhaps he had a low pain threshold as well as a resistance to outside healing. Tsunade would be out of her mind over this. Pity Tetsuya was a dangerous rogue.

It was another fifteen minutes or so before Tetsuya finally arrived. The large metal door opened and he was wheeled in on a wheelchair by two wardens. His wounds were nicely healed, but it was clear that he was so doped up he could hardly sit up straight. Sakura was immensely relieved to see a muzzle on his face. He glanced around the consulting room in a fuzzy daze, but his glazed eyes sharpened at the sight of Sakura. She held her breath, but all he could manage was a lazy smile.

"Good afternoon, Tetsuya," the doctor began politely. "We'll be removing your stitches today and so it will be in your best interest to keep still during the entire procedure."

Tetsuya did not respond.

The doctor instructed Sakura to tackle one side of the rogue nin while he did the other. Together they removed his gown so that he wore nothing but his underwear. Sakura had to supress a gasp. Was there really any place on his body that hadn't been cut up? Steeling herself for the long arduous job ahead, Sakura took a breath and began to remove Tetsuya's stitches.

Just as the doctor predicted, it wasn't long before Tetsuya was asking for the painkillers. He did this by nodding his head in the direction of the bottle.

"Is it really that bad?" the doctor asked, frowning. "It won't mix well with the sedatives."

Tetsuya was adamant and eventually the doctor relented. "Only a little bit, you understand," he said. He filled a syringe with a carefully measured amount and injected it into the rogue nin. After a few seconds his eyes rolled back in relief. Sakura wondered what was in that bottle. Perhaps she could keep some for future missions?

She leaned over to work on Tetsuya again, choosing to attack a row of stitches along his ribs. She was so engrossed in her work that she unaware of how her body was leaning over his restrained hand. Apparently he decided to take advantage of it, and groped at one of her breasts. Sakura jumped and flew back into the trolley behind her, causing a handful of steel instruments and a kidney dish to crash loudly to the floor. She glanced over to Tetsuya to see that he was chuckling while flexing the offending hand triumphantly. The doctor admonished the rogue before telling Sakura to worry about the mess on the floor afterwards and to continue removing stitches. With a snort of disgust, Sakura approached the wheelchair again, taking care to stay far away from Tetsuya's hand this time. She leaned over to see that she had accidently cut him when he grabbed her, and quickly ran her hand over the injury to heal it. Expectedly, his body resisted the healing, but she anticipated that. What she didn't expect however, was the familiar flow of chakra she had experienced just last night. She could hardly believe it. Tetsuya, on Serotex? She sent more of her chakra into him to explore further, but it was beyond a doubt. His chakra flow was exactly like Kakashi's had been last night.

"Everything alright?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Sakura replied. "Everything is fine. Just a small nick…"

xxx

The vegetation around Katoka reformatory was kept sparse for a reason; it made it very difficult for inmates to escape. Right now, it was making it very difficult for Kakashi to trail the dealer from the laundromat. Fortunately he had the cover of night, but staying hidden from his target was seriously testing his abilities.

After a long trip down an open path, the dealer finally entered Blue Maple, the compound where many of the higher level staff members stayed, such as the doctors and the psychiatrists. He wove through the apartments and eventually made his way to the bath house. Kakashi followed him behind the building where the much anticipated exchange finally took place. Turned out this dealer got his goods from someone on the inside. That someone happened to be a square faced bespectacled man.

 _The little shit_ , Kakashi thought. Going about like an autistic delivery guy when in fact, he was behind a highly illegal operation and perhaps a fair amount of murder as well. He was too far away to hear what was being said between the two, but it was clear that the laundromat dealer was handing over money in exchange for more merchandise. Kakashi was relieved; they could finally move forward on this mission.

Sakura was still fast asleep when Kakashi entered her room. He'd waited until the hallway was deserted before slipping inside unnoticed. He glanced at the bed that was once occupied by Chika and suddenly remembered something. Yuu had been standing close by when she invited him to meet her in the bathroom the other day. The thought chilled him.

"Sakura?" he whispered, leaning in close to the sleeping kunoichi. She looked so peaceful, and the fact that she didn't stir meant that she was exhausted. Dr Nakamura had informed him earlier that she'd been assisting with a long medical procedure in the mountain. It must have been quite taxing to leave her like this. Or maybe she was just used to his presence…

"Sakura…"

The kunoichi's eyes fluttered open and her dazed look was immediately replaced with one of recognition. "Kaka-sensei," she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Please don't call me that," he said. It was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Sakura blinked. "What do you want me to call you?'

"Anything except sensei," Kakashi replied.

Sakura shrugged. "I didn't know it bothered you," she said.

"It didn't," Kakashi replied honestly, "but I think we're past that now…"

The flush in Sakura's cheeks meant that she knew exactly what he meant, but she chose to change the subject. "I'm glad to see you," she said. "I have news."

"So do I," Kakashi replied.

The pair spent the next few minutes comparing their reports and it became clear that Yuu was definitely the common denominator. Sakura got out of her bed and retrieved something from her wardrobe; a bottle of green liquid.

"Tetsuya's been asking for this," she said, turning the bottle over in her hands. "I have a feeling it's been spiked, but I can't be sure."

Kakashi's stomach turned. There was no way he'd be a guinea pig for her. "There has to be another way to test it," he said. Thanks to Genma, he still hadn't taken care of himself since last night, which meant he stood no chance at resisting her this time.

Sakura's eyes widened. "No! I wasn't… I mean, I wouldn't expect you to…"

Kakashi breathed. "Thank god."

"I was going to test it tomorrow, but it seems it has become more urgent now," Sakura said. She turned back to the wardrobe and grabbed a test tube and some other bottles she had hidden amongst her clothes. She carried the goods back and sat down on her bed.

Kakashi removed his eyepatch to watch his former student perform the test, and was quite impressed at the skill required to conduct it. He observed the way in which the solution turned into a gel.

"Shit, that confirms it," Sakura said. "I wonder how long he's been drugged."

"Long enough to become addicted apparently," Kakashi replied.

Sakura cast all the apparatus aside and leaned back against the wall beside her bed. For a fleeting moment Kakashi wished that he had offered to take the medicine. That way he'd have an excuse to make a pass at her. It would be so easy to climb over her, to kiss her again, to take her clothes off… he looked down and swallowed hard. _What the fuck was he thinking?_

"Something seems off," Sakura ventured.

 _Damn right_ , Kakashi thought. Something was very off if he was thinking of jumping his student… _former_ student, he reminded himself firmly. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"This drug isn't very expensive," Sakura replied. "I cannot see how all the risk would be worth the money."

Kakashi nodded. "I've been thinking along those lines too."

"So now what?" Sakura asked.

"Simple," Kakashi replied. "I follow Yuu around until I find out what he's up to."

"And Tetsuya?" Sakura asked. "What if he disappears?"

Kakashi shrugged. "What _can_ we do? He's surrounded by guards 24/7."

"Yeah, I guess," Sakura replied. "So what do _I_ do?"

"Stand by, act normal," Kakashi replied. _Maybe pay me in kind for all my hard work?_

"You mean, crazy normal," Sakura said.

"Yes," Kakashi replied. "That's what I meant."


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: The main reason for the slow update (besides life) is because I dallied on this chapter. The events that take place here were always part of the original plan, but somehow after typing it I felt like I'd broken some kind of unwritten agreement...the summary says that they work undercover in a mental institution, but in this chapter, they move to a new location. I spent weeks trying to find a way to keep them at Katoka without compromising the story, but to no avail, and so I have decided to stick to the original idea. I'll be keen to hear whether it feels like I'm in breech of something by moving location... I suppose that's what fanfiction is for; to practice writing and to see how it's received.  
_

 _A warning: This chapter might be a bit dark for some...YMMV._

 _Thanks again for all the support so far!_

* * *

Kakashi considered himself truly fortunate that their primary suspect happened to live next door. Genma lay on his bed reading, while Kakashi sat on a chair next to the small window.

Kakashi heard Yuu return home for the evening. It would be some hours before they struck, but at least the first part of the plan was settled; their target was in place. Sakura was due to meet him after dark, though he'd made a point not to indicate her role in what was to come. She may have finally seen things his way regarding ANBU, but this mission wasn't over, and she would have to see it to the end, for better or for worse.

He was dreading Sakura's arrival. He'd been able to blame his initial, unexpected lust for her on the drug the first time, but when he met her in her room the other night it had returned completely unbidden. If she had given him half a chance… he clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes shut to stifle the oncoming fantasy. It would never have ended well. He knew himself; once his curiosity was sated, he moved onto other things. Life had damaged his ability to form attachments to anyone and while he was the envy of anyone living in fear of a broken heart, it was actually quite lonely to be this way. Part of the reason he'd been against Sakura's admission to ANBU was because she still had the capacity to love; something that had broken in him a long time ago. He would only hurt her, and she didn't deserve that. It would be an outright betrayal, given that she trusted him unfailingly; it was a trust that had taken him many years to foster. Besides, Tsunade would have his balls.

xxx

Sakura was glad for the cleaners' overalls; they kept her warm against the evening cold. She was on her way to White Ash to meet her partners, and was so relieved that the mission was moving forward at last. She was also glad that she had made a significant contribution to its progress. She had no idea what she had to do once she got to White Ash, but was told she wouldn't need anything other than her disguise. She had been lying on the bench outside the common room when Genma whispered the instructions to her. Understandably, he had to be brief.

The weathered door opened slowly to reveal Kakashi on the other side. He nodded a stiff greeting and let her into their tiny living quarters.

Genma closed his book and sat up. She noticed that he'd looked out of sorts a few days ago, but when she managed to do a covert check up on him in the bathroom, she found nothing of concern. Whatever had been wrong seemed to have sorted itself out. He had a solemn expression on his face though, which meant they probably didn't have good news to share. She looked up at her former sensei for answers.

"We're going next door to find out who Yuu is working for," Kakashi said. "I doubt very much he's going to talk easily."

Sakura felt her stomach turn. "I thought you were going to follow him?"

"I did," Kakashi replied. "The only thing of value is the exchange by the old bathhouse. Otherwise he's just an awkward medicine guy."

"Please tell me you're not…"

Kakashi fixed his gaze. "I called you here for two reasons. First, to cast a genjutsu that will block the sound and secondly, to heal the fucker afterwards."

The thought appalled her. "There has to be a better way…"

"Welcome to ANBU," Kakashi said flatly. "And if you ever consider joining again, I want you to remember what happens tonight."

Sakura's throat tightened. Given his career, she was certain he had the capacity for cruelty, but the thought of seeing it firsthand made her blood run cold.

Genma must have sensed the tension because he got up from his bed. "I think it's time," he announced.

Kakashi nodded his agreement and took a few moments to go over the details. He'd been kind enough to spare Sakura from any direct involvement, but she still felt ill.

Kakashi went into Yuu's apartment first, while Sakura and Genma stayed inside theirs. He didn't have to force entry, because Yuu answered the knock to his door. Sakura heard them greet each other and Kakashi ask for some pain killers. Yuu consented and let the copy-nin inside his home. The door closed behind them and within a few minutes some bumping resounded from the thin wall that separated the two apartments. The silence was followed shortly by a summons from Kakashi. Sakura and Genma looked at one another. He was clearly as unhappy about this course of action as she was, though he had accepted its inevitability better than she had. They left the apartment and entered Yuu's. There was little evidence of a struggle, though a chair lay askance against the wall. Yuu was sitting on the toilet lid, tied up, while Kakashi stood beside him with his arms folded. He nodded at Sakura, who went on to cast the genjutsu. Yuu could scream blue murder now, and not a soul outside the flat would hear him unless they knew how to release the façade. Genma was lucky, he got to keep a lookout outside and so he'd be spared the worst of it. He waved at Kakashi before leaving the apartment to man his post.

"Who are you working for?" Kakashi asked firmly, turning to face the trembling man on the toilet and removing his gag.

Yuu pressed his mouth tightly and looked away.

"I will ask nicely again," Kakashi said. He removed a kunai from his pocket and tapped it ostentatiously against his palm. "Who are you working for?"

"Ka…Katoka," the man replied.

Kakashi took a patient breath. "Who else," he asked. "Who's giving you the Serotex?"

"I d' don't know what you're talking about," the man answered, still looking down. He looked naked and vulnerable without his glasses, which lay broken on the floor.

"And here's your last chance," Kakashi said. "I saw you give Serotex to the laundry man."

Yuu went still. A dead giveaway.

"Where are _you_ getting it from?" Kakashi asked. He was swinging the kunai around a finger now.

Yuu was getting really pale, and stared at the weapon for a moment before answering. "That wasn't Serotex…"

Kakashi snorted. "Looks like I have no choice." The swinging kunai stopped dead in his palm and he leaned forward to use it on his charge. He glanced over his shoulder at Sakura, "Think of Chika," he said.

Sakura didn't see what happened next. She disappeared around the corner and sat on Yuu's bed, directing all of her thoughts towards maintaining the soundproof barrier. It was important, clearly, because Yuu had started screaming. She blocked her ears with her hands, but it didn't help. The shrieking just got louder and louder, punctuated only by another question from Kakashi before resuming again when Yuu didn't answer.

Before long, Sakura was reduced to a weeping mess, rocking on the bed with her hands to her ears, praying for it to stop. It didn't matter that Chika was dead because of this guy. No one deserved to be treated like he was. Not even Orochimaru.

It felt like an eternity before Kakashi finally emerged from around the corner. Sakura removed her hands from her ears and glanced towards him, seeing that his hands and uniform were covered in blood. She looked up at his face and gasped. He was white as a ghost, and his eyepatch was gone. His Sharingan eye was closed and a trickle of blood ran down his cheek. "He needs you now," Kakashi said weakly, and then he collapsed.

Sakura ran over to the copy-nin, but after sending some exploratory tendrils of chakra into his tired body, she could see that he was in no immediate danger. Yuu, on the other hand… she got up and headed for the tiny bathroom to find that the man had fainted. She was expecting a gory, meaty mess and an ocean of blood, given what she'd heard, but she saw no such thing. She approached the man to find that he had indeed been hurt by the copy-nin's kunai, but the injuries were superficial and by the grace of god, his fingernails hadn't been touched. _What the fuck happened_? She crouched beside Yuu and began to heal him, taking care not to leave any scars. Genma must have heard the screaming stop, because he walked in.

"Everything go okay?" he asked.

Sakura paused to wipe her forehead with her arm. "I actually have no idea," she replied. "Either this guy is pathetic, or…"

Genma was beside the copy-nin trying to rouse him, but Kakashi lay still. Genma turned him over and grimaced at the sight.

"He's alright…" Sakura tried to assure him.

"So he tried it after all," Genma said, more to himself.

Sakura frowned. "Tried what?"

"The Hoshi technique," Genma replied. "It's a really weak version of Tsukuyomi." He patted the unconscious Kakashi gently on the chest. "Ever since that experience with Itachi, and has been working on perfecting it."

"How does it work?" Sakura asked.

Genma went on to explain that the Hoshi wasn't a complete time distorting genjutsu like the one Itachi used. "You really have to hurt the person," Genma said, "but the jutsu makes it seem much worse than it is."

Sakura slumped. "If he'd said earlier…"

"He wasn't going to use it," Genma said. "It comes with a lot of personal risk, but something must have changed his mind."

The comment left Sakura with mixed feelings. On one hand, she was relieved that Yuu wasn't hurt badly. On the other, she didn't want her former sensei to injure himself, especially if he used the Hoshi to make her feel better. _Nah, he wouldn't do it for her_ , she thought. Perhaps he just had a conscience.

Satisfied that there was no evidence of what had happened to Yuu, Sakura got up and made for the copy-nin, who lay still on his back.

"Did he talk eventually?" Genma asked, glancing over at Yuu's healed, but comatose form.

"I think so," Sakura replied. "But I could hardly make out what he said." She ran a hand over Kakashi's closed Sharingan, but it was too foreign for her. His unnatural eye was an anomaly to start with; it wouldn't respond to any conventional healing and she certainly couldn't tell how badly damaged it was. As for the rest of his body, he was just exhausted; his chakra depleted. Together, Sakura and Genma lifted the copy-nin from the floor and put him on the bed. The movement roused him, and he opened his good eye.

"You okay?" Genma asked.

Kakashi managed a nod.

"What do we do with _him_?" The special jonin jabbed a thumb in Yuu's direction.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kakashi replied. "We kill him."

Sakura gasped. "No, why?"

"He knows too much," Kakashi said. "Besides, he's not who you think he is."

Sakura glared at him.

Kakashi shook his head. "He's an evil man, Sakura. He deserved every bit of pain he thought he experienced."

"So then why risk your eye to spare him?" Sakura asked.

"Because I didn't know what he was until he spoke," Kakashi replied. "I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"I still don't think we should kill him," Sakura said. "I just spent a lot of Chakra healing him."

"It's what I asked you to do," Kakashi said.

"So that you could just kill him?" Sakura spat.

"What do you think will happen when someone notices that he's missing?" Kakashi replied. "They find his mangled body and then what?"

Sakura sighed, "They know he's been interrogated…"

"Exactly."

"I'll do it," Genma said eventually. He stood up and walked over to the bathroom. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and put her hands to her ears again, but the deathblow was completely silent. _He was responsible for Chika,_ she reminded herself.

Kakashi was too weak to do anything else, so it was left to Genma and Sakura to trash the apartment, making it look like a desperate drug addict had come in search of his fix. They found his stash of Serotex and made sure that they took all of it, and nothing else.

xxx

There were few things worse than the day after using too much chakra; certainly worse than any hangover Kakashi could recall. Genma wasn't back from the institution yet; he'd gone there to report Yuu's unfortunate end.

Wishing dearly for a mirror, Kakashi carefully lifted his eyepatch, under which Sakura had stuffed some bandaging. It didn't help much, as she knew it wouldn't, but she obviously felt compelled to do _something_. Her compassion was something he liked about her. He opened his eye carefully and was relieved when he could still see out of it, though the vision was incredibly blurred. It wasn't anything to be alarmed about just yet; it had happened when he created the vortex meant to kill Deidera. What the fuck he was thinking when he chose to use the Hoshi was beyond him. He wasn't partial to violent interrogation; few people were, but he'd been trained by Ibiki himself, and had learned to get on with it when it was necessary. But as he got down to work he saw Sakura disappear around the corner and he lost his nerve. Never in his life had he cared so much about what someone else thought of him, and with so little time to ponder the unfamiliar revelation, he'd reacted impulsively. He even managed to convince himself that he'd been looking for an opportunity to use the Hoshi anyway. _Yeah right_. It would be several days before his eye healed, perhaps more? And to think he'd criticised Sakura just recently for making decisions based on emotion rather than logic.

Yuu was indeed working for someone other than the reformatory. A man named Katsuo. It took a bit of cross referencing, but Kakashi soon realised that this was a man he'd heard of before. He had been an esteemed personal guard for the kazekage of hidden sand. At least until he went rogue a few years ago.

As the medicine guy, Yuu knew who was in the best physical condition at any time at the institution, and his job was to find healthy specimens to send back to Katsuo, for spare parts.

Of course, anyone up to no good would keep their cards close, even from those working under them, and so Yuu didn't know why Katsuo needed extra organs. What he did know, was that he needed to keep a few people tanked up on Serotex at any given time so that when he got the request from Katsuo for another body, he just had to administer a drug that would react with the Serotex, resulting in a fatal seizure. All he needed to know was the blood type needed. Once the body was unattended long enough, Yuu would use a teleportation scroll to send the body back to Katsuo. Turned out the reason for Yuu's sick leave was because he'd failed to procure a body with blood type O, and so had to sacrifice one of his own kidneys in exchange for his life.

Kakashi knew where to find Katsuo; in an abandoned bunker about half a days' travel to the east. He knew something else about Katsuo too. He couldn't say no to a free sake, or to an attractive young woman…

xxx

Sakura had always considered packing to be quite a ceremonious event. She had a specific ritual that she followed every time she left for a mission so that she did not forget anything. She followed it religiously for many years. But now she sat, fidgeting awkwardly while she waited for Kakashi to collect her. She had nothing to pack. All her weapons and clothes were being kept safe in Kakashi and Genma's apartment while she lived off the institution.

The doctor was less than happy to find out what had become of the missing patients, but was pleased to get some answers at last. She arranged for Sakura to 'transfer' to another institution and that Kakashi would escort her. Because it usually took a day or two for the paperwork to be finalised, Genma chose to go ahead of them. It was likely he was already at the bunker by now.

Without packing to occupy her mind, she was left to face the growing knot in her stomach instead. She would be spending the next few days working one on one with her former sensei, something she had done before several times, but back then she hadn't tasted forbidden fruit yet.

It didn't matter how many times she tried to convince herself that it was a bad idea, every time she laid eyes on him her mind wandered to shameful places. Shameful, because student-teacher relations were absolutely taboo back in the village, to the point where their 'former' status meant little. As far as everyone else was concerned, he was her teacher, and always would be in some way or another. And speaking of which, he said that the trip to Katsuo's bunker would involve some training, though what sort of training that entailed she did not know. He'd seemed unhappy about it too, which made her uneasy. She could only hope that the training would keep both of them so occupied there would be no room for illicit thoughts.

Sakura jumped at the knock on her door, and straightened herself before granting access. Both Kakashi and Dr Nakamura entered. They appeared to be in mid conversation about who he needed to report to at the 'other institution', and that they would take good care of her. Of course, the second the door closed behind them they changed the subject.

"I was telling your partner," the doctor said, "that if I have my bearings right, there is an old onsen near that bunker. It might serve as a useful headquarters while you get a feel for the situation."

Images of Jiraya peaking at naked girls immediately came to mind. "Please tell me it's not mixed…"

"The springs are divided up, yes," the doctor replied. "There are some designated pools used as honeymoon suites…" she glanced carefully at both Sakura and Kakashi, "perhaps you two could pose as a recently married couple?"

Blessedly, Sakura saw that one coming in time to stop the oncoming blush, but Kakashi would sense that she was using chakra for something. A brief flash of curiosity crossed his good eye. "We'll see," Kakashi replied, "it might be a good idea."

Inner Sakura had a small meltdown… _how could he say that and be so fucking calm about it!?_ "I agree, Sakura said, looking at her feet, "Let's see when we get there."

"You must be pleased to stop your medication," the doctor said, skirting around the awkwardness. "Just keep those needles on hand," she added, "the tremors will take time to go away completely."

xxx

Kakashi and Sakura decided unanimously to travel as the crow flew. The land was less tame, but it brought the risk of running into someone down to zero. They were dressed in civilian clothing and the doctor had been kind enough to give Sakura a few old summer dresses to wear at the onsen, claiming that she was going to throw them out eventually anyway. Sakura had offered thanks at the time, but hoped dearly that the gesture was wasted on her. Perhaps they wouldn't need to stay at the resort after all? Perhaps it was too far from the bunker to be worthwhile. After one last look at the mountain, Sakura and Kakashi shouldered their packs and disappeared into the predawn darkness; a clear sky full of stars, for the first few hours at least.

Sakura was less than impressed when the heavens opened, and it made their journey so difficult and cumbersome that they couldn't resist an abandoned hunter's cabin when they fell upon it. They dropped out of the trees and entered carefully, just in case someone, or _something_ else had got there first. Thankfully it was empty, but it leaked badly and the weathered floor had been reduced to a mud bath. Eventually they were able to find a spot each that wasn't directly under a stream of water and they waited patiently for the rain to stop. Sakura contemplated sleeping, but she'd only been up five hours, and the morning sun, though dulled by the rain clouds, was high above the horizon already.

"How is your eye?" Sakura asked. It was hard to tell underneath the eyepatch.

Kakashi ran his fingers over the black material as if testing its condition. "Still blurry," he replied. "Won't be much good for a few days."

Sakura frowned. "That wasn't very smart, Kaka-sen…"

Kakashi arched an eyebrow

"Kaka- _san_ ," Sakura corrected, now acutely reminded of the broken innocence in their relationship.

"Would you rather I went Ibiki on him instead?" Kakashi replied patiently.

Sakura shook her head. "No, I suppose not, but risking your eye at this point in the mission?"

Kakashi looked down. "It would have been too difficult to heal him clean if I hadn't used the hoshi."

 _Of course he hadn't done it for her_. "I guess that makes sense," Sakura replied. She pushed at a broken, soggy floor plank with her boot. It folded rather than splintered, and muddy water swirled into the gap it made. It was on days like these that she wished teleport scrolls could be used on living people too. "When do I start my new training?" she asked.

Kakashi stared at her for a long minute before answering. "As soon as I've heard from Genma," he replied. "Hopefully you won't need it."

It was another hour before the clouds moved on. Sakura wandered out of the hut, stamping her leg a little to clear the pins and needles that swarmed under her skin from sitting too long. The air was delightfully fresh and clean and Sakura took a moment to breathe it in when she caught some movement in the corner of her eye. She immediately went still, a hand to her kunai. Kakashi had gone still too, only to relax the second the source of the noise made himself visible; it was Pakkun.

"Genma sends word," the pug announced after a brief exchange of greetings.

Kakashi's face went deadpan and Sakura saw his good eye flicker over her before returning to the nin dog. "What's the situation?" he asked.

"The bunker is right under the onsen resort," Pakkun said. "Genma has done some investigation and says that _operation scarlet_ would probably be the most effective."

Sakura frowned, "Operation scar…."

"Thank you, Pakkun," Kakashi interrupted. "I will summon you again if I need your assistance."

The pug nodded his head and promptly disappeared. Kakashi did not seem pleased at this news.

"What is…?"

"Looks like we'll have to take the doc's advice after all," Kakashi said, forcing a smile. "You ready to shack up for a few days?"

No amount of chakra would kill the oncoming blush now. Maybe that's why it was called operation scarlet. She opened her mouth to protest, but judging by Kakashi's solemn mood, she guessed there really was no other alternative.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Another chapter for your patience :)  
_

* * *

"Welcome to our humble establishment," the lady greeted from behind the counter. She was around Sakura's age, and dressed in a pretty kimono with red trimmings, while Sakura had to make do with a green summer dress that was clearly one size too big for her, especially around the chest area. At least her hair was brushed, for what must have been the first time in over a month, and she had put it back into a french braid

The onsen was old, considering the architecture, but still in exquisite condition. The reception area was adorned with beautiful Japanese water colour paintings and dark, wooden panels with detailed decorative carvings. The strong smell of incense was making Sakura's head feel woolly.

"A room for two please," Kakashi said, putting a practiced arm around the curve of Sakura's waist. "We just got married."

The girl grinned broadly and turned a few pages in her large booking register. "Looks like the main suite is open," she said. "And seeing that it's off season…"

"Oh, aren't we lucky?" Kakashi cried enthusiastically, kissing Sakura on the cheek. She wasn't sure what was worse; his unbecoming enthusiasm or the way in which the physical contact made her stomach flutter.

"Here is the key to your suite," the girl said, handing it to Kakashi. "Your room is through that passage, and we have a public tea house on the east wing."

The teahouse, Sakura thought. That was where Genma had seen Katsuo.

"Seeing as we weren't expecting you, would you care to give us half an hour to get the room ready?" the girl asked politely. "Dinner is being served in the restaurant as we speak."

"Yes of course!" Kakashi replied. "Our union was rather, er, rushed," he added sheepishly, giving Sakura a doleful look. "We didn't even have time to have rings made."

"Love can be impatient sometimes," the girl said, glancing toward the restaurant.

"We'll leave you to your duties," Kakashi said. He whipped Sakura around and exited the reception. Sakura was glad to be heading to a place with food; she was starving.

The tea house was expectedly quiet when the pair entered, given that it was off-season and all. Sakura and Kakashi entered casually and found a table near the window that overlooked a section of the hot springs. A waitress was upon them in a second, passing them each a menu and taking their drinks order, both of which involved alcohol. Sakura took a moment to appreciate the carefully tended flowers around the spring and watched a bird flit around a nearby tree. The reformatory had been so dead and devoid of beauty that this small scene was stunning by comparison. Kakashi's voice cut into her thoughts; "I think I'm going to have a miso soup," he said.

Sakura hadn't even looked at the menu. "I'll have the same," she said. It didn't matter what she ordered. It would all feel like lead in her stomach.

"Your chakra's showing," Kakashi said from across the table.

For some reason Sakura looked down at her chest before her brain registered what Kakashi had actually said. She wound in her chakra, but shifted her neckline up a little anyway. She mourned the days when she would work with her former-sensei sans all this damn awkwardness.

Kakashi was fidgeting with the edge of the table cloth. "I think it's time we discussed operation scarlet," he said eventually.

 _Not before my sake gets here,_ Sakura thought. "I thought this was it," she said softly. "Us, pretending to be married."

Kakashi shook his head. "That's just the cover," he said. "In ANBU, they use the word _scarlet_ for seduction mission."

Sakura's stomach turned. "And I take it you're not the one I'm meant to seduce."

"No," Kakashi replied, "At least, that's not the ultimate goal anyway…"

Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"Our target is reputed to have a weakness for beautiful young women," Kakashi said. "And I think that a recently married one will be particularly tempting."

Could this night get _any_ worse? "And once I've seduced him?" Sakura asked. "Using mental patients for spare parts doesn't exactly make good pillow talk."

"No, but it won't be long before he notices your chakra," Kakashi said. "And it's likely your skills as a healer will be invaluable to his operation."

Sakura bit her lip. "You want me to _help_ him further whatever sick cause he's undertaken…?"

Kakashi shrugged. "What's the alternative?"

Sakura slumped and put her face in her hands. "I know," she mumbled.

"I know you're not interested in ANBU anymore," Kakashi said gently. "But you've committed yourself to this mission…"

"You don't need to remind me," Sakura replied bitterly. "Serves me right for reaching beyond my means."

Kakashi looked like he was going to say something, but appeared to think better of it and remained quiet. Their order arrived and they ate their meal in silence.

xxx

The honeymoon suite was not the elaborate penthouse Sakura had been expecting, but she found it charming nonetheless. Large, red lanterns hung from the ceiling and candlelight painted the room in a flickering romantic glow. If only it had two beds…

Kakashi dropped his bag on one end of the room and walked over to the sliding door that led outside. The second he opened it a billow of steam wafted into the room; the hot spring was practically on their door step. Sakura inched closer to see that a narrow, wooden veranda spanned the distance between the sliding door and the water, which was delightfully private. Not for the first time she wished the circumstances were different.

She glanced at the copy-nin. He was gazing over the hot spring, though looking at nothing in particular. "What is on the agenda for tonight?" She asked, more to break the silence than anything else.

Kakashi took a deep breath and snapped back to the present. "Training," he said solemnly. "We can't afford to waste any opportunity to further this mission."

Sakura frowned.

"If Katsuo appears as early as tomorrow, you need to be ready for him."

The frown turned into despair as Sakura realised now what the training might entail. "Kaka-sens… _san_ , we only just got here…"

Kakashi arched an eyebrow. It was all he needed to do. Sakura wilted and held back further protest. She could not deny that he had a valid point. She had been taken off guard though; he'd mentioned further training but gave no inkling of what it would involve. She made for the large futon in the middle of the room and flopped onto it, hands over her face. "Is there _no_ other way?"

Kakashi fixed his gaze on her, and took a long time to answer. "The problem is not that we don't have any alternative, but rather that you're incapable of carrying out this one."

Sakura looked up. "That was low Kaka-sensei,"

"You think I _want_ to train you?" Kakashi said, his stoic façade giving way to anger. "You should be doing this with Kurenai or Anko, not me."

"Then _let_ me do it with them," Sakura said, her anger rising too. "I already told you I don't want to join ANBU anymore, so why force me to s…seduce Katsuo when something else will work instead? What if it had only been you and Genma on this mission? Or are you men so eager to use women for degrading work…"

"Enough Sakura!" Kakashi cried. "We use women in seduction missions because it _works_. Because men wear their brains in their dicks. It's a fuckload more difficult for a man to seduce a woman, so don't you dare pull the sexism card."

Sakura was stunned to silence. She'd seen her former sensei this angry before, but didn't recall ever being on the receiving end of it. No amount of Tsunade temper tantrums had quite prepared her for this. She looked away and took a deep breath to calm her own ire before allowing her mouth to engage again. "What would you have me do then?" She asked without meeting his gaze.

"Get Katsuo into bed," Kakashi said, "show him your healing skills and get him to let you in on his operation." He looked down. "I don't want to train you, but this is not about what I want, it's about using the most effective strategy to get the job done."

"A shinobi must always put the mission first…" Sakura said, quoting rule number four.

"You said it," Kakashi said dismissively.

Sakura took a deep breath. "I actually meant the training," she said. "What would you have me do, to train?

Kakashi scratched his head. "I don't know if girls are trained differently… I guess I'll just do it the same way we did in ANBU."

"What, _you_ were trained in seduction?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide.

"Of course I was," Kakashi said. "It's compulsory when you join the elite."

Sakura shook her head. "Why didn't you say so… I might have changed my mind sooner…"

"Sakura, nothing in heaven or earth can change your mind when you get your teeth into something."

"Doesn't mean you didn't have to try." She sighed. "Serves me right for being so pig-headed."

"You said it," Kakashi said.

"Hey!" Sakura snapped, "I'm trying to apologise…"

"Apologies mean fuck all right now," Kakashi said. "It doesn't change the situation right now…"

Sakura stood up, her stomach feeling like a cement mixer and looked her sensei in the eye. "What do I do first?" she asked.

"You get naked."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What? You mean, just like that, take my clothes off? Like a stripper…?"

"No," Kakashi replied, "nothing fancy, just take 'em off."

"I don't see how it's supposed to teach me anything? I get naked every day…"

"Never in front of a man though," Kakashi pointed out.

"I have before," Sakura replied.

"Once," Kakashi said, "with a man that likes other men."

Sakura's face went red. "That's not fair," she said.

"Well, you shouldn't have lied to Tsunade," Kakashi replied. He was getting angry again. "If you had told her from the start how inexperienced you were we wouldn't be in this situation right now."

"You make it sound so terrible," Sakura said. "Poor you, having to train your pathetic student in…"

"I find it fucking appalling," Kakashi said. "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."

"So you find me so goddamned repulsive that you…"

"Kami Sakura, you're behaving like a child!"

"Can you blame me?" Sakura retorted. "I know that's all you see whenever you look at me…"

"Sakura…"

Sakura didn't wait to hear what Kakashi had to say next. She strode past him, exited the room and slammed the door behind her. _Fuck him and his patronising…_

xxx

Night time brought with it a pleasant chill, making the air cool enough to really appreciate the hot spring beckoning from outside the sliding door. A bottle of champagne lay in a bucket that had been full of ice when they entered their room. More than once Kakashi considered doing some damage to that bottle whilst relaxing in the hot water, but he knew better than to indulge just yet. If Sakura thought getting naked was going to be awkward… well, that champagne would be far more useful later, for both of them.

It had been hours since the kunoichi left in a huff and Kakashi spent the time trying to come up with a plan B. It would have been handy to have Genma nearby, but he was watching the onsen from a large copse of trees for any activity worth noting. Katsuo may have been able to transport dead bodies via teleportation, but living bodies would have to use the entrances like everyone else, and that was what Genma was waiting to see. If there was any hope that Katsuo was partial to men, Kakashi would have considered undertaking the seduction himself; it wasn't as if he hadn't done it before, but Katsuo was very clearly a lady's man only, and team Katoka was definitely lacking in that department. The only team member with a pair of breasts was busy draining the contents of the bar at the tea house.

Kakashi wondered if he could make a move on Katsuo anyway, but on the pretence that he wanted in on the operation for some personal gain. He could attempt to get to know him better and try to find some common ground. He would need to find out why Katsuo went rogue in the first place…

The door clicked open and Sakura appeared in its threshold. Her cheeks were flushed, but not from embarrassment. She glared at him wordlessly before stumbling into the room. He looked down and shook his head. She was being incredibly immature…

Sakura sauntered past him, grabbed her travel pack and disappeared into the en-suite bathroom. He waited to hear the sound of the shower, but all he could hear was the clinking and clanging of obviously alcohol induced clumsiness instead. He was just about to get up from the bed to check on her when the door slid open again. She still wore the glare she directed at him earlier, but it had changed to one of determination rather than loathing. Her hair was loose and clearly ruffled, like she had tried to fluff out the kinks created by the braid. The neckline of her dress hung dangerously low and Kakashi had to force his gaze back to her face… her very attractive face.

Sakura released her deathgrip from the doorjamb and sashayed closer to the bed, her hands making their way to the knot that held the halter neck of her dress together. Kakashi watched as she carefully loosened the strings and the way in which they slipped down to her shoulders. She wasn't wearing a bra and now the only thing separating her naked body from his greedy gaze was a thin piece of green cotton, which Sakura held up with one hand. She was biting her lip again nervously and after deliberating a few moments, she removed her arm and the dress slipped down, exposing a pair of perfect, firm breasts; pink nipples hardened to the evening chill.

Kakashi flung himself over his lap to hide his increasingly obvious approval of the sight standing before him. It was too much. "Sakura… wait…"

One gentle tug at the hips resulted in the dress pooling around her ankles. She was wearing panties underneath, of course, but from the looks of things, they weren't going to be on for much longer.

"Sakura!" Kakashi cried. "Please…"

"If the success of this mission depends on me getting naked in front of you," Sakura began, "Then that is what I intend to do."

"No, I mean, yes, but it's not quite like that," Kakashi said. "I can see now that you can get naked in front of a man now." He covered his face and looked away from her.

"It took half my pay in sake to find the courage to do this," Sakura confessed. Her thumbs hooked into the waist band of her panties. "I'm not going to waste it by stopping half way."

The tables had been turned all right. Sakura had taken his derogatory comments seriously and even though she went about it in a fucked up way, she was still complying with the training, and now it was taking every ounce of Kakashi's resolve not to take the training to the next level _right now_. He had no idea that her usual androgynous attire had been concealing such an exquisite female specimen underneath; one that he'd been growing increasingly interested in sampling. If he had even a drop of alcohol in him right now… "And what if _I'm_ not comfortable?" Kakashi said before he could stop himself.

Sakura halted, her panties still mercifully around her hips and looked up at him. "You're a renowned philanderer," she said incredulously. She straightened and covered her breasts with her arms. "You've seen more naked women than I have and _you're_ feeling uncomfortable?"

"Fuck," Kakashi cursed, stilling leaning forward to hide his aching arousal. He ran his hand through his hair aggressively. "Because its _you_." He said weakly. "You're my student."

"I _was_ your student," Sakura corrected, still covering her chest. "And I will remind you that I'm not a child anymore,"

"You got that right," Kakashi said. He scrubbed at his face. "You're drunk, Sakura. You said so yourself. I don't want you to regret going too far too fast when you wake up tomorrow."

That had done it. Sakura's resolve seemed to crumble and she looked down ashamedly. After a few more seconds she turned around and darted into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The second Kakashi heard the sound of the shower he let out the breath he'd been holding and contemplated whether she would give him enough time to release some of the built up pressure. If he reacted so strongly to the sight of her naked, he was in for a tough time tomorrow.

xxx

Kakashi had been right, as usual. The first thought through Sakura's mind the next morning was her drunken strip show the night before. She wished the ground would swallow her whole, and she felt her whole body wilt in shame. She rolled over to see that Kakashi was still asleep, his back turned to her on the bed that they shared. He was asleep when she finished her shower, and she was able to slip under the blanket beside him without further incident. She watched as his side rose and fell rhythmically as he slept. He was dressed only in a pair of drawstring pants, giving her a full view of his back and shoulders, which were crisscrossed with white scars, some long and thin, others where large and likely life threatening wounds had once been. She resisted the urge to trace them with her fingers and contented herself with the view instead. He must have sensed her gaze because his breathing began to change.

"You're boring a hole into me with your eyes," Kakashi said sleepily."

Sakura covered her face with the blanket. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

Kakashi rolled over onto his back and ran a hand through his sleep tangled hair. "It's alright," he said. "I was only teasing you."

Sakura got an eyeful of his naked face, and this time in full daylight. It was only in this light that she was able to see it; a small beauty spot on the lower part of his left cheek. She had been dying to see that playful mouth in a smile ever since she saw it the first time… "Any suggestions to cure a hangover?" she asked.

That had done it. How could Kakashi resist laughing in the face of someone else's misfortune? A broad grin split his face and touched his eyes in the way she had seen it above his mask so many times before. No wonder it was possible to read his expressions by one eye alone. "I'd say hair of the dog," he chuckled, "but I doubt there's any booze left after what you put away last night."

Sakura might have been ashamed of herself if she wasn't too busy ogling at the sight before her. "I needed it," she said.

Kakashi sat up and removed his eyepatch tenderly. Sakura watched as he opened the eye slowly and looked around the room. The white around the red iris was still bloodshot, but not as badly as the night he'd overworked it. He blinked a few times and eventually replaced the eyepatch.

"Healing okay?" Sakura asked.

"Hai," Kakashi replied. "I should be able to use it again in a few days."

Sakura nodded, and steeled herself for the next question; "So what is on the agenda for today?"

Kakashi paused mid-adjustment of the strap around his head and eyed her for a moment. "Today we see if you can repeat last night without liquid courage."

Sakura looked down at her hands. She should have known.

"But not before we check this place out," Kakashi said, launching into a long stretch. "And certainly not before we've found some breakfast."


	10. Chapter 10

Katsuo looked exactly the way Sakura pictured him. If she hadn't already known that he was from hidden sand, his complexion would have given him away. He had dark blonde hair that looked like it had been short a few months ago. His tawny eyes were sharp and curious; they were eyes that missed nothing. This did not deter Sakura – she was used to working with the copy-nin after all. And speaking of the copy-nin…

"You see him?" Kakashi whispered into her ear.

Sakura turned to face him and their faces inadvertently brushed against one another; or perhaps Kakashi had deliberately taken too long to move out of the way. Either way, the contact affected Sakura more than she liked. "I see him," she whispered back. "What now?"

"Stare at him," Kakashi said. "And if you can, make it seem like your affection for me is fake."

Sakura snorted. "So I need to make my fake love seem fake?"

"Yeah, something like that," Kakashi replied.

Katsuo laughed at something and Sakura directed her gaze back to him. For the first time she realised the implications of his presence since he walked into the teahouse; she may not get the training she desperately needed to conduct her part of the mission. The prospect made her feel both frightened and relieved.

It took all of fifteen seconds for the sand-nin to notice her eyes on him. She smiled and looked away as if in response to something Kakashi was trying to tell her. He followed the comment with a kiss to her cheek and she looked away from him, rolling her eyes so that he couldn't see it. After a few more minutes she dared to let her gaze settle on Katsuo again.

A good hour passed. Kakashi spun interesting stories for the people that gathered around them at the bar. Sakura had heard many of them before; had even been part of some of them herself during Team Seven days, though Kakashi had been careful not to let slip that he was a shinobi himself. She pretended to be interested, tried very hard to supress the butterflies in her gut every time Kakashi touched her affectionately and did her best to focus on the task at hand. It was quite clear that she'd got Katsuo's attention, because as time drew on, she noticed his eyes on her more than once. She wondered if she was meant to approach him, or if she would need to play a little hard to get.

"Sakura," Kakashi whispered into her ear, "I'm going make a trip to the men's room. See if he'll approach you while I'm gone."

Sakura's stomach flipped. _And then what?_ "Sure," she said.

Kakashi got up. "Don't make it too easy for him," he said. "Men like him like the chase as much as the catch."

Sakura nodded and tolerated another kiss, this one on the mouth. As soon as Kakashi was out of sight, she cast her eyes towards Katsuo, who was staring in the direction in which Kakashi had just disappeared. For a fleeting moment Sakura worried for Kakashi's safety, but that worry became directed at herself the second Katuso stood up and headed for her spot at the bar. He sauntered over to her like a feral cat and Sakura forced a smile through all the fear.

Katsuo stopped a few inches short of where she sat and pretended that his purpose was simply to order a drink. He called the bartender over and rattled off his preference. "Oh, and one for the lady," he said, nodding over at Sakura. "I have a large note to break," he added, holding up the highest denomination of Ryo available.

Sakura blinked at Katsuo stupidly.

"Well, honey," he said, "What's it gonna be?"

Sakura bit her lip. "I don't think my husband would approve," she said, taking care to make the comment sound more like a challenge than an outright refusal.

Katsuo took the bait. "Well, I suppose I'd better make it worth his while," he replied. "What's he drinking?"

Sakura told the bartender hers and Kakashi's choice of poison and he got to work right away. As soon as the drinks were ready, the bartender passed them to Katsuo, who paid for them ostentatiously. With the bartender's back turned to organise some change, Katsuo pulled something from out of his pocket and deftly dispensed the contents into Kakashi's drink; a heavy dash of fine blue powder. He did this all without ever letting his eyes drop from Sakura's. She was supposed to see him do it; it was an invitation of some sort. She winked at him to show her approval and thanked him for the drinks.

"I'll be here all night," Katsuo said loudly, like an alpha male trying to piss on someone else's property. He winked at her and returned to his table.

Kakashi came back a minute later. He'd obviously taken his time on purpose. He pretended to make some excuse about running into someone that he knew. Sakura passed him the drink and told him that she had bought it for him. She realised that she had taken a huge risk by assuming the drug was Serotex. It could have been anything, actually, but if she tried to warn him, Katsuo might have noticed. All she could do was hope that if it was something else, her antidote kit in the honeymoon suite would cover whatever poison it might have been. It was doubtful that Katsuo wanted a scene after he had publically bought Kakashi the drink, so it would have to be something slow acting, which would give her time. She held her breath as Kakashi thanked her and took a long draught of the spiked drink. She cast a glance at Katsuo, who was smirking.

xxx

Something had been a little off about Sakura's behaviour when Kakashi came back from the men's room. He wondered if Katsuo had approached her after all and that she was up to something as a result. He shrugged internally; all he could do at this point was trust her. He took another draught from his new drink and hoped that she knew what she was doing.

It was while he was listening to a grizzled man retelling an old war story when the tingles started. He was suddenly aware of his clothes on his body, of every strap and weapon against his skin and more than anything, the rush of blood to the south. There was no doubt about it; this was Serotex, but something was off. Over and above the familiar sensations, he felt weak as well; light headed and his dexterity had been compromised. He had to put his almost empty glass on the counter before his hands let it drop.

"Kaka…?" Sakura lifted his head in her hands. She didn't need to fake her concern.

"I… I'm okay," Kakashi tried to wave her off, but when he made to stand up, his legs would not work properly.

"Woah!" a man called from behind him. "Easy there. That shochu has a nasty kick when you least expect it."

A group of men all laughed. Kakashi had to grab the side of the bar to steady himself. This was good, and clever. To everyone else, it looked like he had simply had too much to drink. To Katsuo, however, it showed that his spiked drink had worked, at least, he assumed that Katsuo had something to do with it. It was the only thing that explained Sakura's odd behaviour.

"Let's get you back to the room," Sakura said, standing up.

"I can walk," Kakashi said indignantly when his young 'wife' tried to hold him up. It took a grand effort, but he managed without having to lean on her, though he had to hold her around the shoulders for balance. He heard the men laughing all the way behind him.

They hurried into the honeymoon suite and Kakashi collapsed onto the futon. His head was spinning and his heart racing. The weakness was particularly disturbing, and he could not fight Sakura as she climbed onto him. He felt her lift his shirt and mask over his head and then the cold spikes of chakra that lanced through his body as she examined him.

"Your temperature is sky high," Sakura said. "And your chakra is completely erratic." She pressed a hand to the chakra centre just below his navel. Kakashi jerked upwards as she sent more exploratory chakra into him. "If someone tried to attack you right now you'd be completely helpless."

Kakashi groaned.

"Fortunately for you," Sakura said, getting off him and striding across to the wardrobe, "I spent enough time in crazy town to know exactly what to do with you."

Kakashi rolled to his side to watch Sakura open her medical kit and rifle through the various vials. Black spots began to distort his vision and it was just as he was about to black out when he felt a savage pain in his neck. He grunted and no sooner had Sakura removed the needle than his vision began to clear up. He rubbed his neck.

"I had to get you back eventually," Sakura said as she packed everything back into her medical kit. She must have been talking about the way he handled her in the common room not so long ago.

"What was that?" he asked.

"This," Sakura replied, holding up the empty vial, "was a simple sedative. That," she added, pointing at him, "was a very heavy dose of Serotex."

"Fuck, you coulda warned me," Kakashi said. A sudden rush shook him and he realised that while he'd regained control over his body, the Serotex still had his mind… and other parts of him.

"How was I supposed to warn you?" Sakura asked. "It would have given me away."

Kakashi looked up at her; this girl who he'd pretended to 'love' all day. He was barely keeping it together after all the touching and kissing and the Serotex was doing some serious damage to his self-control. "How sure were you?"

"Of what? That it was Serotex?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi nodded.

Sakura sighed and told Kakashi everything; how Katsuo had bought the drink for him and openly spiked it. She told him that she was confident that if the drug had been anything else, she would have been able to treat him. "The dose you got would not have killed you," Sakura said. "It would have overstimulated you enough to cause a black out, one not dissimilar to too much alcohol. You would have woken up some hours later, feeling like shit, but alive nonetheless."

Kakashi's hands began to ache, which made him realise that he was holding them in a white-knuckled deathgrip. Would she let him? How long had it been since he sampled forbidden fruit? A few weeks? It did not matter how many times he convinced himself that it was a bad idea, the curiosity never went away; the _need_ never went away. Damn this fucking drug; she should have let him pass out – carry on with the plan.

"He's probably waiting for me now," Sakura said, her eyes downcast and her hands trembling slightly. She took a deep breath. "I suppose I had better go to him…"

"No…" Kakashi's hand shot forward without his permission and grabbed her by the arm. "You're not ready," he said.

Sakura frowned. "But you said…"

Kakashi felt himself spinning out of control. He knew exactly what he had said; that if Katsuo gave them an opening tonight, she would have to take it. Lives were at stake here, and the longer they took to solve the matter, the more people would die. But right now that didn't matter; the Serotex wasn't going to let him do the right thing…

Kakashi's lips were against hers before she could finish her sentence. The first thought through Sakura's mind was 'Serotex', and anyone with half a brain would have pushed him away and carried through with the mission. That would have been the correct course of action. Right now however, Sakura's resolve was overwhelmed by insatiable curiosity and she let go. Kakashi held her face in his hands and guided her mouth open with his. He kissed her deeply and urgently and she reciprocated, allowing weeks of pent up frustration to melt away with each wave of euphoria.

Kakashi swung Sakura over his lap and continued to kiss her while he untied the bow holding her dress. Her heart was hammering so hard in her chest she was sure he could see it. She could feel his arousal and was suddenly ridiculously turned on at how much he wanted her. She felt his breath against her neck, followed by his mouth, his tongue. She felt the dress slip down her front and soon enough her body was exposed to him. Before she had a chance to cover herself, he lowered her against the futon and pinned her hands above her head.

"Kaka-sensei…wait…"

Kakashi froze, his hands inadvertently tightening around her wrists in a desperate act of restraint. "Kami please don't ask me to stop." His voice was tight.

That was not Sakura's intention at all, but she couldn't resist the question that fell out of her mouth. "Why not?"

"Because I don't think I can." He was breathing hard; his chest heaving noticeably against the straps tied firmly to his body. That was the reason Sakura wanted to stall him. She wanted to remove his weapons.

"Sit up," Sakura instructed. "I promise I won't ask you to stop."

Kakashi let go of her reluctantly and she leaned forward to release the clasps holding the straps in place. Each time her hands brushed his skin it erupted in a wave of gooseflesh. Sakura was suddenly a little jealous that she wasn't rushing with him, remembering how good the drug had felt outside the reformatory. Perhaps it was better this way, she thought; someone needed to have their wits about them.

The last weapon had barely clattered to the floor when Kakashi was on her again. He pulled the dress over her head and began to discover her body with his mouth. It was completely new for her; Sasuke had hardly afforded her the pleasure during their awkward encounter together. She gasped when Kakahsi's mouth found one of her breasts and sucked hard, and she barely had time to recover from that before his hand found its way between her legs. She remembered suddenly that the last time they got this far, something spooked him and he stopped. She hoped dearly that this time there was enough Serotex coursing through his veins to keep his wits firmly at bay.

But he did stop, and she could have screamed.

Kakashi brought his face right up to hers and looked her firmly in the eye, the tremors in his hands indicating the fragility of his resolve. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" he whispered.

Sakura held his gaze. "Why are you asking?"

"Because once I'm inside you nothing will be able to stop me," Kakashi replied. "This is your last chance to back out of this."

Sakura was so full of anticipation she could burst. He had firmly placed the ball in her court and if she woke up in a sea of regret tomorrow, it would be all her own fault. After several intense seconds, the whirlwind in her mind went still just long enough for her to give a small nod, which Kakashi responded to immediately. Sakura's underwear was yanked off in one smooth movement and she watched as he removed his pants just as swiftly, not bothering to deal with the weapons strapped to his legs. He was on her again in seconds, kissing her hard against the mouth while he adjusted his position. He broke the kiss to give her one last look; one last opportunity to call a halt to this insane idea before he lost himself.

Sakura's consent was immediately followed by the intense feeling, and discomfort, of him sliding into her. A sharp moan escaped her as the last shred of innocence in their relationship shattered into a million pieces. Kakashi moved slowly at first, carefully gaging her condition, but once he established that she was in no pain, he let go; gave in to his need for her and let his body succumb to desire.

Pleasure began to overwhelm Sakura, and while she had been completely captivated by her former-sensei's ecstasy at first, she soon became too distracted by her own. Suddenly the mission and the implications of what they were doing ceased to exist, along with any thought of how she would feel tomorrow. It didn't matter that Katsuo was waiting for her, and that people could die if she didn't go to him. Kakashi gave her another clumsy kiss before the last shreds of conscious thought abandoned him. His increasingly fast rhythm soon sent Sakura over the edge and the intensity of her climax brought him to his peak as well. As soon as he had ridden out the last wave of pleasure he collapsed against her, barely holding his weight on shaking arms. Sakura kissed him on the temple and ran her fingers through his hair, which elicited a soft groan that she felt more than heard.

"You still rushing?" she asked after a few minutes had passed. It had taken her that long to pull her blown mind back together.

Kakashi nodded and lifted his head so that he could face her. "More than ever," he said, and then he kissed her again.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Thanks everyone for the reviews and the support. My sincere apologies for the long delay; got swept up in life again._

* * *

Kakashi was aware of his body before his eyes opened. He ached everywhere, especially at a small point on his neck. Slowly the memories came flooding back and it wasn't long before he was unable to choose between what felt worse; the guilt or the serotex hangover. He wondered if Sakura was awake; he could not sense her chakra. He took a deep breath, rolled over and saw straight away why he wasn't able to sense anything… she wasn't there.

xxx

There was one clear voice that held strong against the tornado of fear, doubt and second thoughts that threatened to overwhelm Sakura; _don't make it too easy for him_. "Smart work," she said, swirling her cup of sake. "I knew the 'blue' could do many things, but a date rape drug? You sure you put it in the right drink?"

Katsuo leaned back in the chair and laughed. They were sitting in a small, tidy backroom attached to the onsen. There were a few other shady characters hanging around; Serotex flowed freely as well as money and cards. Sakura had managed to evade taking the drug for now. She claimed that she wanted to be sober while she got to know Katsuo. She realised then just how well he responded to the 'hard-to-get' approach. She had found him waiting for her at the bar, and he hadn't needed to wait long. After their second round, Kakashi's body succumbed to the drug and he passed out. Sakura had no intention of meeting Katsuo afterwards, but she lay awake with her head spinning and decided that she wasn't going to get any sleep anyway. Besides, this really may have been their best chance to tie up this mission.

"You talk like you know a lot," Katsuo said. He leaned forward to close the gap between them on the red couch. "But you seem nervous about something."

Sakura had been expecting this. She had come to terms with the fact that she would never be able to lie, or pretend to be cool and calm when she wasn't. It just wasn't in her nature. However, this mission at least gave her a good explanation for her discomfort… "Well, if you must know," she began, bringing her face closer to his so that she could lower her voice. "I just got out of Katoka."

A flicker of uncertainty flashed across Katsuo's face. An untrained eye would have missed it. Years of having to read someone by one eye alone had given Sakura an advantage. She knew it would take longer to get Katsuo to trust her this way, but it was the only thing she could use to explain the nervousness, and her knowledge about Serotex.

"Did they let you out…?"

Sakura shook her head. "I got tired of waiting, you know? Besides, too many people started dying. I got scared."

"And your man?" Katsuo pretended to ask casually. He took a deep draught of his drink.

"One of the wardens," Sakura said. "I needed him to…"

Katsuo put his hand up. "No need," he said. "I understand perfectly. Guess I did you a favour then huh? I saw how he had his grubby paws all over you last night."

"You have indeed," Sakura replied.

"So what's next for your newfound freedom?" Katuso asked.

Sakura shrugged. "I can't stay out in the open too long," she said. "They're bound to send someone from the reformatory sniffing around here sooner or later. Perhaps I'll stay another day or two and then leave."

Katsuo was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I might be able to help," he said.

Sakura's stomach flipped. Had he really taken the bait so easily?

"You have somewhere for me to stay?" Sakura asked hopefully. "I really can't bear to go back…"

"I might," Katsuo replied. "In return, I want to know more about that chakra of yours."

xxx

Genma was glad for sunrise; the nights were getting colder and his makeshift camp was not the most comfortable. He had seen his comrades go into the onsen, and it had been two days since then. No one else had come, or left. He was settling into his preferred hiding place and was getting ready for another long, boring vigil when an unexpected cloud of smoke cleared to reveal a welcome sight. Kakashi had arrived.

"About time," Genma said. "I was starting to worry about you… dear kami…"

Kakashi shook his head, "I'm fine," he interrupted. "Just dealing with a serious Serotex hangover." _And a heavy dose of shame too_ , but he kept that to himself.

The men compared their reports; Kakashi did most of the talking, making sure he left out all the _unnecessary_ details. "She came back later this morning," he said, looking relieved, "and it looks like she's managed to catch his interest."

"So what's next then?" Genma asked. He was glad for the progress, but it was tainted by his concern for Sakura. Even he knew that undercover work was not her forte.

"Sakura gave him the same story we gave Katoka; that she's a bit fried from a nasty genjutsu," Kakashi said. He added that Sakura said she'd become disillusioned with her village, because they had essentially left her to rot at the reformatory.

Genma nodded. "Well, I hadn't expected that much from her, to be honest."

"Nor did I," Kakashi replied. "Perhaps she might be better for ANBU than I thought…"

xxx

Sakura had her back to the rogue nin, but that did not stop her skin from crawling under his lascivious gaze. She was sure she heard him lick his lips.

"This is a natural cavern," Katsuo said, gesturing to the stone walls around them. Years ago the onsen used to be a front for an underground sex industry, but when prostitution became decriminalised, this place was abandoned."

Sakura looked around in awe; she imagined a dingy hideout full of smoke, beer and goons. This place was, well, empty for the most part. They had descended a stone staircase which opened up from behind the games room. It was cold, which explained why scantily clad prostitutes would have preferred to work above ground. She followed Katsuo to the entrance to one of several tunnels.

"There are some rooms here," Katsuo said. They were in a natural hallway where extra, manmade caverns had been cut out. Each room was large enough for a bed and perhaps a small wardrobe. Sakura guessed this must have been where the whores brought their patrons.

"Most of them are empty, Katsuo continued, "but I've kept two of them clean and furnished."

The two middle rooms were certainly the largest, and inside one of them, Sakura found a large rug and a futon in the middle. What worried her was the steel gate at the entrance. She stood back to let Katsuo in first.

Katsuo smirked, but accepted her invitation. "Rest assured, I have no intention of holding you in this room against your will."

 _Perhaps not in_ this _room,_ Sakura thought. She walked in behind Katsuo and made a show of sussing it out as temporary living quarters. "What do you want in return for me to stay here?" she asked. "I don't have any money…"

"You don't need money," Katsuo said. He flashed a dangerous grin full of perfect white teeth. "This place can get very cold at night."

Sakura's stomach turned, but she steeled herself. "This does not look like a room suited to a man like you," she said, hand on her hip.

"Oh, you'll have to earn that privilege," Katsuo replied smoothly. "As much as you don't trust me, I'm not entirely certain I can trust you yet either. Someone in your position would do well with the bounty on my head."

Sakura's eye narrowed. "You have a bounty on your head?"

"You're telling me that you're from a hidden village and you've never seen this face?" Katsuo asked, using his thumb and index finger to draw a frame.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. He was vain. She could use that to her advantage. "I'm a chunnin," Sakura replied. "Trust me, if I had seen the inside of the bingo book, your face is the one I'd forget last."

Katsuo laughed. Sakura expected him to point out her shameless flattery, but he did not. Was he really _that_ vain? Or did he think she was that stupid? "Say I accept your conditions," Sakura said, "what are we going to do about my husband?" The word made her shiver.

"That depends on how attached you are," Katsuo said. "I can arrange to have him…"

Sakura couldn't bear the thought. She had to think fast; how to 'get rid' of Kakashi without killing him, and without giving Katsuo any hint that she might care about his wellbeing… "He sent a message back home when we arrived here," Sakura said. "In it he says that he'll be back in a few days and that he's staying here, for our… honeymoon." She made a point to look disgusted.

Katsuo rubbed his chin. "Yes, I can see why that would be a problem. I cannot afford any undue attention on this place."

If Sakura was allowed a sigh of relief, she would have.

"When are you due to leave?"

"He wants to leave in two days," Sakura said.

"Then perhaps you simply don't leave with him," Katsuo replied.

"And until then," Sakura said, "I'll pretend to be a…loving bride."

That dangerous smile again. It made Sakura's blood run cold. Katsuo's hand shot out like a viper and grabbed Sakura's hair from behind. He pulled her close and pressed his mouth against hers. She fought at first; it was instinct, but she calmed herself and let him in. He tasted like cold steel, and his kiss was just as harsh. After a few seconds, she tried to break it, but he held fast. Mission or not, she was not going to let a man have his way with her by force, and so she bit him on the lip, hard.

Katsuo grunted and pulled away. A trickle of blood ran down his chin and his tongue snaked across the cut to taste it. His eyes were on fire. "Careful," he growled, "you might get a man too excited to restrain himself."

Sakura arched an eyebrow.

"Try hurting me again and see what happens," Katsuo said, wiping his chin. The blood left a pink smear. "I dare you."

Then it dawned on her. Sakura _had_ seen this man in the bingo book. His hair and part of his face had been covered by white cloth, like most of the Kazekage's bodyguards. He also had facial hair in that picture. It was unlike Sakura to forget a face, and this one had caught her off guard. What flashed in her mind now like an urgent danger sign was the blurb beneath the picture: Highly dangerous; type A masochist; do not attempt to inflict physical pain; use genjutsu only.

Sakura put on her best smile. "You one of _those_ are you?" she said, trying to sound intrigued. _How on kami's earth was she supposed to deal with this guy?_

xxx

Kakashi paced anxiously around in their suite. The sun was descending towards the horizon, which cast orange streaks across the floor. On a good day, Kakashi may have appreciated the sight, but not today. Sakura had been gone for over two hours and he had no idea if she was safe. They had decided on three hours tops, and then he needed to search for her. That was what any 'loving husband' would do. At this stage, however, he did not know where the entrance to the underground cave was and so he would waste precious time looking for it in case she needed help. If he was honest with himself, it was not only Sakura's safety that had him tense; it was the thought of that man all over her…

Kakashi shook his head to kill the wave of jealousy creeping along his spine. Logically, a one night stand hardly made Sakura his personal property, but then again, when it came to his former student, he hadn't been thinking logically for some time.

The sound of soft footsteps outside made Kakashi stop pacing and fall back against the futon. He felt her before she walked in through the door, and he closed his eyes in relief. His ego would not allow for her to see him so concerned, and so when she did walk in, she saw a man who had been lounging casually on the bed for a few hours.

"I'm in," Sakura said triumphantly.

"In what?" Kakashi asked suspiciously. He was propped up on one elbow. "In his good graces or in deep shit?"

Sakura shrugged. "Probably both."

Kakashi looked down. His head swam with all the things he needed to say, but the sight of her was distracting him; made him want to talk less and do other things instead. She was wearing another of Dr Nakamura's summer dresses, one that fit much better around her smaller chest. It was green, like her eyes and fiendishly short, which gave him a full view of those long, athletic legs. She had chosen to forego her usual, practical braid and left her hair loose, which hung in pink wisps around her heart-shaped face. She had made the effort on purpose, of course, but not for him.

"Uh, Sensei?" Sakura asked, wringing her hands awkwardly. "Are you alright?"

The title stung. "I'm sorry," Kakashi said. "I've made things difficult…"

Sakura's face flushed and she looked away from him. "I could have stopped you," she reassured him.

"I took advantage," Kakashi insisted. "I should have been stronger; more responsible." He sat up and rested his arms on his knees, head hung low. "If you want, I'll sleep on the floor."

He heard Sakura approach and take a seat on the futon beside him. She shifted up to make physical contact, which made his pulse quicken. Her skin was warm against his bare shoulder. She took his head in her hands and turned him to face her. "That won't be necessary," she said. "I have no regrets about last night."

Kakashi's heart swelled in his chest. She wasn't upset with him?

"We just cannot repeat it," Sakura said, letting go of Kakashi's face and turning to look away. "I've made a deal with Katsuo."

And there was the dagger; straight into a swollen heart that would have left the room in a huge bloody mess if it were real. He was glad for his mask; she would have seen the grimace of pain.

"Care to report then?" he asked coolly.

Sakura told Kakashi about the cavern, and about Katsuo's penchant for pain. "I'll have to lure him to you somehow," she said. "Maybe you can trap him in…"

Kakashi lifted his eyepatch and Sakura wilted. She must have forgotten about what he'd done to it. "It's better," Kakashi offered. "But it's useless for a few more days still."

"I, I just thought after last night…"

"I kept my eye closed the whole time," Kakashi reminded her. He winced at the thought that, for a brief moment, she led him to believe that he might have been given an opportunity to have her again, but then she gave the knife in his heart another twist.

"I told him you wanted to leave in two days," Sakura said. "And that I would just disappear before you could take me with you. It was all I could do to get the idea of killing you out of his head."

"How am I supposed to support you if I'm not here?" Kakashi asked.

"How am I supposed to get him to trust me without, you know…" she flushed. "And it would be unrealistic to expect you, my new _husband_ not to be suspicious when I'm gone all night."

"So what do you suggest?" Kakashi asked.

"Pakkun," Sakura said simply. "You stay with Genma and I'll send him to you if I need anything."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "I'll give it you, it's a reasonable plan."

"But?" Sakura was frowning.

"But…" Kakashi's shoulders drooped. "But nothing. It's a good plan."

"There is one problem that _I_ can see," Sakura admitted. "I don't have much experience in pleasing men."

Kakashi's breath caught. _Did she not just say something about not repeating last night?_ "And?" was all he could ask.

Sakura played awkwardly with the hem of her dress. "Would it be terrible to ask you for that, um, _special_ training you mentioned a few days ago?"

"Yes," was Kakashi's short reply.

Sakura's face dropped.

"But if it means improving your chances of surviving this mission," Kakashi continued, "then it doesn't matter how I feel about it." Not for the first time he wondered what he'd done in a past life to deserve this.

"Thank you," Sakura said, looking up at him again. "I know I'm asking a lot."

"There's one thing I don't understand," Kakashi said. "You said you made a deal with Katsuo, and that we couldn't…" he cleared his throat. "Sleep together again. How am I supposed to teach you if…? Am I not supposed to be your 'husband'? That's what husband and wife do."

"He has a sadistic streak in him too, it seems," Sakura replied. "He said he'd only let me stay in the cavern if I promised not to touch you again, and that he'd know if we did."

"How?" Kakashi asked.

"Chakra," Sakura replied simply. "Even I know how to tell if someone has been… you know. Every time people join together it leaves a mark on their chakra, for a few days sometimes."

Kakashi bit his lip. Could he think of a worse test of self-control? "When are you due to meet him again?" he asked.

"Tonight, at the teahouse," Sakura replied. She slid a hand down the line of her limited cleavage and pulled out a packet of blue powder. "I am to spike your drink again."

Kakashi glanced at the setting sun. "So we have, say four hours to get you ready." He said. It was going to be the hardest four hours of his life.

* * *

 _A/N: It has been several months since I completed this fic, and every now and then I take a peek at at how it is doing. I am reading the reviews and taking note of the favs and follows - I appreciate them all very much. Thank you!  
_

 _Question:Whenever I check the traffic graph, this chapter seems to be the most viewed and visited by far. I am really curious as to why that is the case. If you can, please let me know what it is about this chapter that is making it so popular. Your feedback will be much appreciated.  
_


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: Saved this one for the weekend proper, because it is definitely NSFW. I'm worried it might be too drawn out. Let me know._

* * *

Kakashi eyed the bag of Serotex on the bedside table as he took a heavy swig of warm champagne. He had emptied the ice bucket, or rather, water bucket ages ago, but he was glad to have saved the liquor. Sakura was already in the hot spring. An unexpected burst of spontaneity that looked suspiciously like female hysteria had led her to climb into the spring without removing her dress. The last fingers of sunlight for the day glinted against the ripples she created as she moved. Kakashi walked over to the deck and passed her the bottle, which she began to refuse.

"Take it," Kakashi insisted. "This stuff flows like currency in ANBU."

Sakura arched an eyebrow.

"We have to do crazy shit like this all the time," Kakashi said. "Nothing wrong with a bit of help."

Sakura accepted the bottle and took a sip without taking her eyes off of him. "Care to share?" She asked. "Maybe it will put this into perspective."

Kakashi sat cross-legged on the deck beside Sakura. "There was one particular mission where I had to seduce a man," Kakashi said.

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Yeah," Kakashi continued. "My partner and I went in knowing our target was into men, and because my partner was also that way inclined the scope of the mission was easy. That is, until our target decided to take an interest in me instead."

"Oh shit!" Sakura said. "What did you do?"

"Well, my partner was delighted to show me the ropes." Kakashi took another sip of the champagne. It was a memory he would have preferred to keep buried, but in hindsight, he would do it all over again to avoid his current situation.

Sakura's face was red again. No doubt her imagination was rampaging inside that pretty head of hers. "Well, I don't see how this could possibly be worse than that…"

"I'm very glad you don't see it," Kakashi said.

"And you do?" Sakura asked. "How is it worse?"

Kakashi opened his mouth to answer, but he knew better. Saying that it was because he'd known her since she was twelve would only elicit an indignant argument. Saying that he would become the village martyr if anyone back home found out would imply that he really did care what people thought of him. Also, he hadn't been sexually attracted to his ANBU partner. "That's irrelevant. And a different story for another day." He stood up and held out his hand.

Sakura took it reluctantly and allowed him to lift her out of the water and onto the deck. Water streamed from her dress, leaving a growing puddle around her on the wooden boards. "From what I've heard about Katsuo," Kakashi said. "I would imagine that he likes the woman to be in control."

"Great," Sakura said, "rolling her eyes."

Kakashi swallowed. "I'm going to show you how to work a normal man," he said. "Treat Katsuo the same way, but use his desire for pain as a teasing point."

"Oh god," Sakura said, looking down. "I don't know if I'm up for this…"

Kakashi lifted her chin so their eyes could meet, "think of Chika," he said firmly. "And all the other patients that died because of him."

Sakura's eyes hardened. The message had hit home. She took a deep breath. "Right," she said. "What do I do first?"

"That depends on how much we're allowed to do before you're in breach of your agreement," Kakashi said. "What did you mean by _join_? Does that include kissing and…?"

Sakura shook her head. "Only sex," she said. "Chakra shifts in expectation of procreation. Getting pregnant is a little more complicated than the simple mechanics of, well, you know how it works."

"Yes, that I do," Kakashi replied, looking away.

"So, what do I do first then?" Sakura asked impatiently.

"You kiss me," Kakashi said. "Take the lead. Make me believe that you _want_ me, but," he held up one finger to keep Sakura at a safe distance, "don't let me think that you _need_ me. This is all about power."

"That's as clear as mud," Sakura whined. "But I'll give it my best shot." She brushed Kakashi's hand away, leaned forward and kissed him on the mouth, but without first removing his mask.

Kakashi inhaled sharply and closed his eyes. He could do this…he _had_ to do this. Sakura pulled back slightly and he felt warm fingers at the edge of the fabric on his face; the fabric that protected him from her and from the threat of his own lust. His mask slid down and she melted into him, sliding her tongue effortlessly into his mouth. Liquid heat coursed through his body and most of it headed south. He wanted to step back to prevent her from feeling his arousal, but he managed to stay still; she would have to learn to deal with the experience if she was to be trained properly. He just wished he could have been a little more aloof; maybe take a few more minutes before his body responded.

Sakura broke the kiss and looked up at him; asking him with her eyes to show her what to do next. He lifted a gloved hand and gestured to the side of his neck. She took note and soon her mouth was where his finger had been. She was going to feel his pulse…

"You okay?" Sakura whispered into his ear. "Your heart is racing."

Kakashi closed his eyes. "You're doing a good job," he said through gritted teeth.

She bit the lobe of his ear gently and he grunted, which made her pause out of fear that she had done something wrong. She had not, of course, but Kakashi decided it was time to guide her to the next step.

He was wearing his sleeveless vest, and, if she wanted to reach more of him, she'd have to ditch the clothes, slowly. He had to remind her that he wasn't one of her patients bleeding out on her table after a mission gone awry. Sakura slipped her hands under the hem of his vest, hooked her thumbs over the edge and slowly slid the fabric up along his body. She kept her face close the whole time, and he could feel her warm breath against his skin. She got to a point where their height difference would make things awkward, and just as he was about to help her along, she curled her fingers through his neckline and pulled him by his vest with one hand towards the water, where she shoved him hard enough to lose his balance.

Kakashi allowed himself to fall over and landed in the water, with all his clothes on still. As he managed to sit properly she had followed him, except this time she left her dress on the deck. The sight of her in nothing but a pair of panties almost made him lose control.

Sakura straddled him and lifted his vest over his head, and she was about to toss it when he stalled her. "You're doing great," he said, trying to keep his eyes on hers and not lower down. "But you're starting to lose yourself. Play with me."

Sakura frowned.

"Use this," Kakashi said, gesturing at his vest. "Wrap it around…"

Sakura threaded the vest behind his neck and used it to yank him forward into another deep kiss. Kakashi moaned in spite of himself. _Kami she learned fast._

Sakura broke the kiss and began to work her mouth down his body, where she took her time to discover every ridge and plane along his abs and chest. He watched her hair form a halo around her face as she slowly disappeared under the water, where her hands found their way to his belt buckle. Grateful that she couldn't see his face he tilted his head back and said a small prayer.

"Oh, I forgot about these," Sakura said when she resurfaced. He felt her working the straps that held the weapons on his ribs. She leaned forward to kiss him again as she fumbled with them. Her lips were quickly replaced with the sharp edge of a kunai, which made Kakashi go dead still. "You think this would work on Katuso?" she asked.

Kakashi glared at her for a long time. The chance was tiny, but he decided to take it. "I think you're ready," he said. "You've managed to do most of this on your own."

Sakura blushed. "Ino tends towards overshare when she's drunk," she confessed. "My biggest worry is down _there_ ," she said, looking downwards. "I don't really know what to do with it. Ino's told me, but…"

 _So much for an easy way out_ , Kakashi thought bitterly. "Well, for starters, you gotta get me out of my pants."

"Hai," Sakura replied. _How the fuck was she so calm about this,_ Kakashi thought. He felt her fingers at the buckle again, which she navigated with ease. If she wasn't a battle nurse he would have wondered about that. He pulled the buckle through and, before she tossed it aside, she tapped it on her hand thoughtfully.

"Keep that thought for Katsuo," Kakashi said firmly.

Sakura discarded the belt and within a few seconds managed to slide his pants over his legs, which soon joined the belt on the deck. Then she looked at him, and suddenly the answer to his question about her calmness was answered. The removal of his clothing was easy for her; she had done it to him and many other men countless times before at the hospital, and sometimes on the field. Now she looked ready to dart off like a skittish doe.

He took her hand in his and guided it under the water. He was just about to put it where he was aching to be touched most when he led her to the straps on his legs first. "These are supposed to be rust proof," he said with as much nonchalance as he could muster, "but I don't wanna push it."

Sakura seemed grateful for the delay and gladly, and very slowly, removed all he kunai around his legs too. She gently put them down on the pile created by his pants and belt. When she turned around she did not make eye contact with him. She glided with calm determination to where she been sitting before and straddled him again. She leaned forward and kissed him, softly, tenderly and before he could prepare himself for it, her hand slid down and found its way between his legs.

Pleasure spiked through him with such ferocity that he arched his back, grazing his skin against a sharp rock. He was glad for the pain. He felt Sakura's hand close around him through the material of his underwear and, before she could do anything else, he shot forward and wrapped his arms around her with bone crushing force.

"What's wrong Kaka…"

"Stop," he breathed. "Just for two seconds."

Sakura remained dead still, her hands still in place and concentrated on trying to breathe herself. She could feel his chest heaving, hear the air tearing through his lungs. She could not understand what the problem was. Had she hurt him? Was he suffering from some kind of after effects from the Serotex? She looked down over his shoulder and saw a raw patch of skin on his back. No way was that the problem.

"Kakashi," she choked. "Please let go."

She felt the pressure around her arms and chest release and Kakashi leaned back against the rocks of the spring. He ran his hand through his hair as he apologised.

She placed her hands gently over his torso and sent chakra into him, to see if he was still under the effects of the drug. He jerked the second her chakra entered him, and he grabbed her hands by her wrists the same way he had the last time.

"If you do that you're going to send me over the edge," Kakashi warned.

Sakura widened her eyes in confusion. "You mean, that feels good?"

Kakashi nodded, his hands still firmly around her wrists. "In fact, you could use it to great effect on Katsuo, if you wanted to speed things up."

Sakura nodded. It was worth knowing that. "I just wanted to check for Serotex," she said.

"Sakura, if there was even a drop of Serotex in me right now you would have been in breach of your contract a long time ago," Kakashi replied.

The words sent a hot wave through Sakura's body. There was something incredibly sexy about seeing cool, calm and stoic Kakashi on the edge of control, and all because of her. She wriggled her hands free from his grip, slid them down along his body and back under the water. She felt him hold his breath as she pulled his underwear off, leaving him completely naked and vulnerable. She took a deep breath and took him in her hand again and she heard the air whistle between his teeth as she did so. She looked up to him for assistance. His good eye was pleading, and after a long pause she felt his hand close over hers and guide it into a smooth, repetitive motion that reminded her of something Ino had told her.

"Start off slow," Kakashi said. His voice was strained. "Then speed up gradually."

Sakura nodded and proceeded to do as she was told. She took note of how his breathing quickened, and saw the way his hands dug painfully into the rock on either side of him. His eyes were closed, and he was biting his bottom lip. She gathered speed and suddenly, without warning he pushed her away from him with great force and he disappeared under the water.

She waited for half a minute before he resurfaced, and he slid across to her, where he gathered her into his arms again. "Sorry," he said. "Sometimes my limits creep up on me too quickly."

"It wasn't because I did anything wrong?" Sakura asked. She felt him shake his head.

"You did great," he reassured her. "The next step is going to be the hardest."

"And what is that?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi let go of her and she watched as he pulled off the eyepatch, followed by an attempt to brush wet, silver hair out of his eyes. Suddenly her own resolve wasn't very strong.

"Now you've got to use your mouth," he said.

"Is it difficult to do?" Sakura asked. Her face betrayed her attempt to sound calm.

"No, this won't be hard for you," he said, "it's gonna be hard for _me_."

"Oh," Sakura said, embarrassed at her innocence. She felt Kakashi take her hand and lead her out of the hot spring to where two clean towels hung over the deck chairs. He took one and wrapped it around her back, using it to pull her close to him so her body pressed against his, skin to skin.

"You had better put a top on," he whispered into her ear."

"How come?"

"Because I'm going to need every shred of help I can get," he replied. He pushed Sakura back and covered her completely before pointing her in the direction of the suite.

The sun was gone now, and it was dark inside, so Sakura went around the room and lit two of the lamps. Then she dried off as best she could and rummaged through her pack for a simple t-shirt, but there wasn't a single one that was clean. She turned to find Kakashi's scarf on the futon and threw it over her head. When she pulled it down it covered her well enough.

Kakashi walked in with a towel around his waist and his eye widened at the sight of her. "Are you trying to make me crazy?"

"What? It's a scarf."

Kakashi shook his head. "Never mind. Let's do this." He let the towel drop to reveal that he had not calmed down at all.

Sakura gawked at him shamelessly for a second before remembering that he was her sensei, which made her face burn like lava.

Kakashi covered the distance to the bed quickly. He grabbed her and in one fluid motion they were both on the futon, him on his back and her on top. The scarf hung forward, exposing her body to the breeze that swept in from the spring, but kept the important parts of her mercifully out of Kakashi's view.

Kakashi lay gazing at her, his injured eye closed and wet hair in his face. Sakura leaned forward to brush it out of the way. The gentle lamplight flickered across his naked face, his one eye was glazed over with desire. She couldn't help herself, and decided to take advantage of their situation. She leaned in close and kissed him again. After a few seconds Kakashi broke it and tried to protest, but something in him gave in and he pulled into her again. When they finally pulled apart they lay still, foreheads touching, his hand holding her in place by her hair and his eyes closed. "Kami I want you so badly," he whispered.

Sakura shivered. "If only there was some way…" They both knew that wasn't possible.

"Let's get through this last bit of training before we blow this mission," Kakashi said. He let go of her hair and she sat up. She listened intently has he gave her a set of verbal instructions. She had heard this from Ino before too, but she felt better hearing it from a man. It didn't make it any easier to stomach her shyness however. She took a deep breath when he finished explaining and slid down his body. She took him in hand and worked him gently before taking him in her mouth for the first time, taking care to do exactly as he told her. She felt him shift under her and looked up to see that he had grabbed the top of the futon above his head. His chest rose and fell unnaturally, like he was deliberately trying to control his breathing. Deciding not to delay further she went back down, and continued what she'd started, doing her best to ignore the agony he seemed to be in.

Eventually Kakashi called to her urgently to stop. She chose not to, remembering one last thing Ino had said about letting a man finish, but Kakashi sat up and lifted her away from him.

"There are some things I am not prepared to do," Kakashi said when Sakura asked him what he was doing. "I won't be able to live with myself afterwards."

Sakura wilted, but she understood. Secretly she was glad too. She watched as Kakashi rolled to the side of the bed. "Did I do alright?" she asked.

Kakashi was sitting with his back to her and his head in his hands. His damp hair was wild and tousled. He gave her a silent thumbs up, which she hoped wasn't just polite, but given how long he was taking to calm down, she guessed it must have been good. She shifted across the bed and put her hand against the raw patch on his back. He flinched initially, but relaxed as soon as he felt the familiar healing chakra wash over the injured area. It was unnecessary; the graze would have healed fine on its own, but she needed to do something with him that wasn't sexual.

"You'd better get ready for Katsuo," Kakashi said. Sakura heard a twinge of bitterness in his voice. "He's probably waiting for you."

xxx

It had been over an hour since Sakura left, and Kakashi remained sitting on the side of the futon, naked and aching. It was taking every shred of his self-control not to march into that teahouse and bring her straight back. He wanted to drag her back to Konoha, have his way with her for days on end and find someone else to complete this bloody mission. He could hardly believe that this woman had been right under his nose all this time and he was too blind to see it. This was complete and utter madness… and he thought he'd left that all behind at the reformatory.


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: I'm reading the reviews, and feeling terrible about taking so long to update. Thanks again for the support! Will do my best to keep the gaps between updates as short as possible - as much as life will allow. Hope you enjoy this one in the meantime._

* * *

Sakura had the shower turned so hot she thought her skin would melt off. _All the better_ , she thought. If her skin came off, so would the memory of Katsuo's touch. Kakashi was in the next room getting ready to leave. This would be their last time together before he joined Genma at his hideout and Sakura would be left to deal with the rogue nin all by herself.

She did not sleep with Katsuo last night, claiming that her 'husband' would find out, but that did not stop him from touching, kissing and groping her shamelessly when they went into the cavern. He promised that as soon as Kakashi left, he would consider her committed and show her the rest of his hideout. She wanted to believe him - that he had every intention of following through with his plan, but she could not rule out the possibility that she was just another set of organs for him, like Chika and the others had been. And unlike the Katoka patients, she would walk straight into his lair, saving Yuu the mission of having to bring the body to the cavern. She wondered if he knew that Yuu was dead yet.

"You look like a lobster," Kakashi said as Sakura stepped out of the bathroom. She was wearing another halter neck dress, the last of Doctor Nakamura's supply, and certainly the prettiest. It was white with small red watercolour blossoms spattered over it haphazardly, like blood. Sakura glanced across her bare shoulders to see that her skin was almost as red as the blossoms on her dress. When she looked back at Kakashi he was carefully folding his clothes and separating them into different piles.

"Is there any hot water left?" Kakashi asked.

"There's plenty out there," Sakura replied, pointing at the hot spring.

Kakashi glared at her.

"A joke, Kaka-sensei."

Another glare.

"Kaka-san." Sakura sighed and went on to sort through her own clothes. Kakashi had been tense and distant since their 'special' training. She had been expecting to feel awkward and ashamed afterwards, but instead she found herself even more attracted to her former sensei. Was she a bad person for wanting more? He, on the other hand, seemed repulsed by her. When she got back from spending a very late night with Katsuo she climbed into bed with him and felt him shift away so that they weren't touching. It hurt, mainly because she'd had a difficult evening and at the very least wanted some physical comfort. Katsuo had grilled her all evening, looking for holes in her story and to establish if she was a threat. She did her best, sticking to the truth as far as possible.

The plan was for her to disappear that afternoon, a day sooner than Kakashi's apparent departure. He would spend the night whining about her disappearance and eventually leave the next morning. Kakashi picked up the pile of dirty clothes and announced that he was going to the laundry. Sakura gave him a longing look, but it did not delay him. She watched as he left the room, closing the door firmly behind him. What if today was the last time they saw one another? This mission could go wrong at any point…

xxx

The laundry room was located on the far east end of the onsen, opposite the tea house. Unlike the one at Katoka, however, this one had staff to do the job for its customers. After a few minutes of arguing, the small bearded man relented and showed Kakashi where to find the soap so that he could do it himself.

Kakashi spent a minute enjoying the sensation of hot water on his hands before he began scrub the clothes in the basin, perhaps a little harder than he should have. He was angry. He was ashamed of himself, and most of all, he was scared. This whole mission had been his idea, a ploy to ruin Sakura's dream of joining ANBU. Not only had she started proving him wrong about her aptitude for joining the elite, but she was about to put herself in serious danger. Even the likes of Anko or Kurenai would be hard pressed to go through with this mission safely, and now Sakura, with her very limited experience was about undertake it on her own. What the fuck had he been thinking? Suddenly Tsunade's insinuation that he was trying to sabotage Sakura's attempt at furthering her career really hit home. Right now he had just sabotaged her life, and only because he wanted to prove a point. The thought of something bad happening to the kunoichi tore him up inside.

All he could do now was put his faith in Pakkun. If things went wrong in the cavern, the little dog would have to get to him fast enough to save his former student.

Kakashi returned to the suite to find that Sakura wasn't there. There was only an hour left before she was due to disappear; he wondered where she was.

xxx

Sakura sat at the bar of the tea house putting a serious dent in the sake store. It wasn't smart getting so drunk just before she commenced a mission like this, but she needed something to numb the pain and the fear. They barely had a few hours left and Kakashi had chosen to spend it washing clothes, which he didn't even need to do himself. With no one else to comfort her, she chose alcohol.

A familiar chakra grazed Sakura's senses and she looked up to see that Katsuo had entered from the games room. It was unusual for him to be active at this time of day. Suddenly she felt sober; thank god for adrenaline.

The rogue nin pulled up beside her and took a sniff of what she was holding in her hand. "I'll have what she's drinking," he announced to the bar keeper. "So today's the big day," he whispered into her ear.

"Isn't it dangerous to be seen with me?" Sakura asked. "My husband is going be in here in a few hours looking for me and everyone will have…"

Katsuo grabbed Sakura by the cheek. "Everyone knows well enough to keep quiet about what I do here," he said. He looked up at the bar keeper who suddenly started working faster at getting his drink ready. All consolation that Katsuo might not make her disappear on account of being seen together went down the drain. Apparently Katsuo was the kind of man where nobody asked questions, ever. Katsuo snatched the sake from the bar tender, saying something about his tab and turned to give Sakura a big wet kiss on the mouth. "I'll be waiting for you, sweetheart."

Sakura watched in terrified silence as Katsuo turned around and headed back for the games room. What on earth was she getting herself into? She wiped her mouth with the back of her arm, more than once.

She decided in that moment that she needed to find Kakashi, if for no other reason than to say goodbye. She finished her sake, thanked the bar tender and was about to settle her bill when the copy nin appeared through the doorway. His good eye burned hot fury.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he asked, grabbing Sakura by the arm. "I've been looking all over for you."

"I just wanted some time alone is all," Sakura replied. His hand dug into her arm painfully, but she decided not to mention that.

"Come with me, now," Kakashi instructed. "How much does she owe you?" he asked the barkeep.

He waved his hands defensively, saying that Sakura's bill had already been covered. Sakura frowned. She hadn't paid anything yet, but that's what Katsuo must done when he settled his 'tab'.

"I can smell him on you," Kakashi said as soon as they were out of earshot. "Did you plan to meet this morning?"

Sakura shook her head. "He must have sensed me in there."

"What exactly were you doing in there in the first place?" Kakashi asked. "And what the fuck are you thinking, getting drunk just before a dangerous phase of a mission? Are you crazy?"

Sakura stopped walking and held fast against Kakashi's attempt to yank her forward. Kakashi pulled again and when she didn't budge, he turned around to face her with a look of confusion on his face. It was better than frenetic anger.

"Sakura?"

"What does it matter, Kaka-sensei?" Sakura asked. The sake had made her numb. "How I choose to conduct the mission from here on is up to me, is it not?"

"I still don't think…"

"Where were you the last two hours?" Sakura asked? "Was I supposed to sit in the room waiting for you like a good little girl?"

Kakashi ran a hand through his hair in frustration, and he appeared to be struggling to make eye contact. What was up with this guy?

Sakura shrugged. "I was about to come looking for you anyway," she said. "I wanted to say goodbye in case this mission went to shit."

Kakashi finally did make eye contact. "It won't. It can't…"

xxx

Genma had just moved into a new patch of shade. The shadow of the longest branch of his tree was almost touching the rock shaped like a two headed tortoise. That meant it was an hour past noon. He settled into his nest of vines and leaves and turned to the next page of the little orange book. He wondered if Kakashi had noticed its absence yet, even though Genma had stolen it before they reached Katoka. The main protagonist was just about to remove the girl's bra when a sudden familiar cloud of smoke appeared. He tried to hide the book behind his back.

"I wondered where that went," Kakashi said. "I could have done with it in that boring common room at the reformatory."

Genma pretended to use the corner of the hardcover to scratch an itch on his side. "You seemed more interested in that book about the first shinobi war."

Kakahsi shrugged. "Any news?"

Genma shook his head. "You?"

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets and looked over his shoulder at the tea house. A steel weathervane shaped like a heron swivelled lazily on the roof, letting off momentary blinding flashes of light as it caught the sun. "I guess Sakura's on her own now," he said. "With Pakkun, of course."

"You think she's going to be okay?" Genma asked. The book was forgotten now.

Kakashi swallowed against the tightness in his throat. "She has to be," he said. He gave Genma a brief account of everything that had happened since their last meeting, taking care to avoid divulging unnecessary information. Genma, unfortunately was sharper than that.

He sat up from his nature-hammock and made a half-hearted attempt to brush away dry leaves. "I thought you said that Katsuo was interested in her medical ability."

Kakashi's mouth tightened. "He might still be."

"But you just said…"

"I know what I said," Kakashi replied.

"But Sakura isn't trained for _those_ kinds of missions," Genma said. He was beginning to look worried.

"She'll be fine," Kakashi said, a little more firmly than he wanted.

Genma arched an eyebrow, "you're putting a lot of faith into…"

"I made sure of it, okay," Kakashi said, "myself, first hand, hands on… you get the idea."

Genma's expression shifted into something between incredulity and relief. "Fuck. That must have been awkward."

"It was professional."

Genma held up the orange book and tapped a finger against the cover. "If you say so."

xxx

Sakura found herself pinned to the cave wall in zero to one seconds. Katsuo held her hands above her head and was all over her like a tightly wound spring that had just been set loose. She did her best to go with it, but her body wouldn't play ball. Her muscles were tense, her movements unnatural and calculated. Somehow, despite all the awkwardness, it had been easier with Kakashi.

Katsuo must have sensed her discomfort, because he pulled back and looked her squarely in the eyes. She returned his gaze, brazen only because of her trip to the bar earlier.

"What's up with you?" he asked her in a husky voice.

Sakura bit her lip. "I feel a little bad, okay?" The lie had slipped out easily – maybe she was getting good at this. Maybe it was because she wasn't lying at all. Kakashi's angry façade had given way to genuine worry in their last moments together. Just before she left the room he had grabbed her by the arm, had started to say something and then stopped. He seemed torn between pulling her back to him and letting her go, and she stood there, suspended for what seemed like an eternity before he finally told her to be careful. Then he let go. Now she was here, wishing she was back with Kakashi instead. The thought that Pakkun was nearby, watching, did not help a stitch.

"Ah baby, I'll help you forget all about it, don't you worry," Katsuo said. One hand still holding both of hers firmly in place, he put the other in his pocket and fished about for something.

Despite her fear, Sakura was infinitely grateful that Katsuo was attractive. She had heard stories about kunoichi having to seduce fat, ugly, smelly bastards and pretend somehow to enjoy it. On the contrary, Katsuo's untidy hair hung in his eyes, currently half-lidded in a glaze of lust directed straight at her. His olive green wife beater exposed ropes of clean muscle that wound their way around his arms and shoulders. Even in this light Sakura could see the myriad of white scars all over his skin. Her trained eyes could tell which ones nearly cost him his life. Her intel told her that he probably enjoyed all of them.

Katsuo pulled his hand from his pocket and Sakura recognised the bag of blue powder instantly. Her heart skipped and began to fight its way out of her chest. If she refused, she would raise his suspicions. If she took it, she might let her guard down and ruin the mission. Katsuo ripped the packet open with his teeth and put his finger in his mouth, which he then dipped into the bag. Sakura's breath caught as the coated finger found its way into her mouth and against her gums.

"Just a tiny bit to take the edge off," Katsuo purred into her ear. "I actually like my girls sober."

Sakura closed her eyes and breathed. She could do this. She had to do it. A familiar warmth in her chest told her that the Serotex was beginning to kick in. It felt good, but not too aggressive either. Now that her mind was slightly calmer she realised what else had been holding her back – loyalty. Somehow she worried that if Pakkun reported her being too good with Katsuo that Kakashi might get upset, feel used maybe. Yesterday may have just been training, but their time before had been something else. Now, she could blame doing her duty well on the drug. She opened her eyes and gave Katsuo a sly smile. She needed to distract him, just for a second, so she licked her lips slowly, watching his eyes follow the movement. She felt his grip on her hands loosen just a fraction and she slipped them free of his hold. Apparently he liked it when girls took control. That's exactly what she was going to do. Thank god for Serotex.

Sakura sent chakra into her hands and grabbed Katsuo by the arms, clamping down hard as she could, cutting him deep with her fingernails. She spun him around and slammed him against the wall with bone shattering force. Most shinobi would have been rattled by that move, Katsuo moaned his approval. She leaned in and kissed him hard, and Katsuo responded with equal force, muttering somewhere in between about where she'd learned to do that. She assumed he meant her strength. She bit his lip hard enough to draw blood and was rewarded with a desire-filled expletive.

Katsuo picked her up and tried to guide her towards the tunnel with the spare rooms. Sakura put a leg down and spun him around. "Oh no you don't," she said. "You promised."

Katsuo sucked on the cut in his bottom lip. A trickle of blood had already run down his chin. He seemed just about to give in when, with a sudden liquid movement, caught Sakura's anchored leg with his ankle and brought them both onto the cold, stone floor of the cavern. The landing forced all of the air out of Sakura's lungs.

"He's still up there," Katsuo said, climbing on top of Sakura. "Technically, your side of the bargain hasn't been fulfilled yet."

Katsuo was likely wrong. Kakashi will have spent an hour at most pretending to look for her before joining Genma. They had both agreed earlier that few people were really paying attention to them and, in the end, why kick up a performance when everyone was too afraid to meddle in Katsuo's affairs anyway. If nothing else, it would draw unnecessary attention. But Sakura couldn't tell Katsuo that. Besides a more worrying matter was presenting itself – she wanted him, right now, on the cold floor.

Her desire must have been obvious because Katsuo's already blacked pupils grew larger, and it had nothing to do with the light. A rough hand found its way under her dress and along her thigh. Then inside her thigh, then as high up as it could go.

Sakura gasped at the sudden explosive pressure. Her body betrayed her, began to move to his rhythm. She moaned, from pleasure and frustration at her ebbing self-control. _Maybe just this once,_ she thought, then she would string him along, use her body to coax him into giving her what she needed to finish the mission, but just this time, perhaps she could let go. She opened up as he leaned in for another kiss. She tasted the blood on him, but she didn't care. Her hands slipped under his vest and glided up the length of his taught body. Her fingers found a nipple and she twisted it hard.

Katsuo yelped, more from surprise, but his approval split his face into a wide grin. "You don't strike me as the sadistic type," he breathed.

"Why do you think they locked me up in Katoka," Sakura replied. She pinched harder, making Katsuo hiss.

"I thought it was because you were crazy," he replied.

"Apparently getting joy from hurting people counts as crazy," Sakura said.

Katsuo arched his back and laughed, the noise bounced off the walls of the cavern making it sound like there were ten people in the room laughing with him. "I think you and I will make a good match, my dear," he said.


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: Once again, I'm so grateful for the reviews. I really appreciate the feedback - thank you! There are only a few more chapters to go before I tie everything up._

* * *

Sakura tossed Katsuo's vest across the cavern, while he fumbled with the ties to her dress when the sound of someone clearing their throat made them both freeze. Apparently they had company.

A spindly man with thin blonde hair stood in the cavern looking sheepish.

Katsuo swore and pushed Sakura off his lap. "Nobu, what is so god damned important that you had to interrupt this?" he asked, gesturing at Sakura. He stood up and dusted himself off.

"Yuu, sir," Nobu said. "He's dead."

Sakura made a small noise in her throat, which unfortunately did not escape Katsuo's attention. He turned on Sakura. "You knew him?"

Sakura nodded quickly. "He brought us medicine on the trolley every day."

A sinful smile crept across Katsuo's face. "Yes, that he did." We walked over to Sakura and lifted her roughly by the arm, using the momentum to pull her into another rough kiss. "Hold that thought," he said to her. "I'll be back in two ticks." He let go of her and led Nobu down one of the many tunnels that branched out from the cavern.

Sarkua scooted across the floor until her back hit cold, solid rock. She took a deep breath and contemplated her situation. _Hold what thought?_ She wondered. Judging by the fiendish bulge in Katsuo's pants, he probably meant what they were doing before Nobu interrupted them. Desire and logic warred for brain space in her head, and then she remembered that she was prepared for this. She crawled across the floor to her pack, which had been tossed aside in the heat of passion earlier, or rather, Katsuo's heat of passion. She had taken a bit longer to catch up, but now that she was there, she needed something to bring her down again. Sakura rifled through the bag and pulled out a bottle of weak sedatives – sleeping tablets really, but they were better than nothing. She swallowed two and replaced the bottle. If Katsuo ever found them she would lie about stealing from Katoka, and that she needed them to sleep. Right now she just needed something that would counteract the Serotex – clear her head. The irrational part of her hoped that Katsuo would return before the sleeping tablets kicked in. That alone should have been warning enough that she was not in her right mind.

Sakura flopped down to one side and pressed her cheek against the smooth rock beneath her. The cold gave her addled nerves a much needed, sobering jolt. It was followed shortly by shame. Shame for nearly giving away her best leverage too soon. What if Katsuo chucked her out after he got what he wanted? Then what would she do? The answer to that question hit her like a punch to the chest – Kakashi. She would finish what she'd started with Kakashi.

Call it what they wanted, she had made the first move after all. Sakura swallowed. Serotex was a stimulant, not a hallucinogen. In other words, it _stimulated_ something already there – it meant that somehow, deep down, she was already attracted to her former sensei, she just needed some powerful synthetic courage to push her into doing something about it.

She had stopped caring about what people thought of her years ago, courtesy of her Shishou. She had been taught that her opinion of herself counted most. But there was one person whose opinion always seemed to count more – and it grated her. _Dammit_! She was a fucking fool. ANBU had been a curiosity at first – a simple challenge to shake the rut she'd been living in. It was only when Kakashi opposed it so fiercely that she decided to make a meal out of it. If it had been Naruto or even Sasuke she would have laughed it off and found something more suited to her abilities instead. But no, because she needed Kakashi to see her, to admire her, to feel something for her, because she valued his opinion above her own, she chose to push through with ANBU. And now here she was, lying on the cold floor of a hidden lair that could well end up being her tomb. And all because her true feelings for her sensei had been masquerading as a misguided need for recognition. What a waste. And she thought she'd grown up since her juvenile obsession with the Uchiha boy.

Katsuo's voice echoed through the tunnel and the diatribe in Sakura's head halted. The fog in her brain had cleared and she sat up, ready for round two. The bare chested man emerged shortly, followed by his lanky informant. Their faces were set, business-like. Sakura bit her lip.

"Duty calls, my sweet," Katsuo said as soon as he spotted her. He found his vest and pulled it back over his head. "I need to sort a few things top side," he continued. "I'll be back soon." He winked at her and left the cavern along with Nobu. Had he just left her alone to explore his lair?

Sakura held her breath and weighed up her options. He had given her no indication of how long he was going to be on the surface. What if a quick snoop around his hideout was all she needed to finish this mission? What if she could be back with Kakashi before sunset? She stood up and dusted herself off, then peered tentatively down the tunnel through which Katsuo had returned.

"I wouldn't if I were you."

Sakura jumped, but soon realized the source of the voice and relaxed. She saw Pakkun creep out of the shadows. He had ditched his uniform and looked like an ordinary pug.

Sakura's face warmed. "So you were watching after all," she said, referring to what she had been doing with Katsuo earlier.

"It's my job," Pakkun replied.

"Please don't tell Kakashi." It was out of Sakura's mouth before she could stop it.

"Does he need to know?" Pakkun asked.

Sakura shook her head.

"Then I don't need to tell him," Pakkun said. "Besides, I've seen worse, if that helps any?"

Sakura sighed. Then wondered what _worse_ things Pakkun had seen, and if they involved Kakashi. She fought the sudden urge to interrogate him.

"Katsuo has seals everywhere," the pug reported. "They're practically invisible, and if you go sniffing around he'll know for sure. Best you wait for him to return."

Sakura nodded, infinitely grateful that Pakkun saved her the risk.

"They fell for Yuu's proposed cause of death," Pakkun said.

"Wait, you listened to their conversation?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Pakkun replied.

Sakura wished he would elaborate on how he managed that, but it was unimportant, at least, compared to the intel he had gathered. She instructed him to continue.

"They think a junkie killed him, so you are not under any suspicion," Pakkun said. "Katsuo seems upset that Yuu is dead because he was so close to procuring another body, but he was not specific about who that would be."

Sakura grimaced. The murderous bastard.

"There are two rooms that are heavily guarded," Pakkun added. "I cannot get in there to investigate and I think it might be where Katsuo runs his main operations. Try to convince him to let you in there." He went on to tell Sakura where to find the rooms and what protective measures had been put in place. It was clear that no one would be getting in there without Katsuo's permission, much less his knowledge of it.

Pakkun declared that he had no further intel for now and excused himself. Apparently nin dogs had no need for cool down conversations. Sakura watched as he padded silently down one of the other tunnels and eventually out of sight. She lay down on the floor again, her head swimming with ideas and possible ploys to get Katsuo to let her into his secret rooms. She wondered if Chika was in there, or at least, what was left of her.

xxx

The onsen was the only piece of civilization for miles in any direction, and as a result the night sky was breath-taking. Kakashi lay on his back trying to enjoy the view, trying to keep his mind still. He lifted his eyepatch and attempted to focus on the stars, but it was still too blurry. At least it didn't hurt anymore. It would be functional again soon, and he hoped that he would not need it before then.

He could hear Genma behind him – the occasional sound of metal clicking against teeth. He wished he could feel as calm as his companion appeared to be. They had spoken little during the course of the day. Genma read Icha Icha for as long as the light would allow while Kakashi kept watch, wishing he could maintain some kind of telepathic connection with his nin dog.

Images of Sakura with Katsuo invaded his thoughts – made up images, but they were disturbing enough anyway, sometimes he had to shake his head physically to dispel them. All he could do now was pray she would be alright, and that she would continue to surprise him as she had been this whole mission. He took Pakkun's absence as a good sign, at least, he had managed to convince himself that no news from the pug was good news – it meant that Sakura was still alright. He would have liked some idea of how everything was going, though – perhaps she had made some progress?

"All this waiting around is enough to drive a man crazy," Genma said into the emptiness.

xxx

The sound of raucous laughter woke Sakura with a start. She was still lying on the cave floor, and the temperature had dropped dramatically. Stiff and cold, she lifted herself carefully to a sitting position. She was shivering.

Katsuo sauntered into the cavern alone, with a feral look in his eyes. It made Sakura's stomach turn, and suddenly the shivering was not only from cold.

"Looks like your man wasn't so infatuated after all," Katsuo said as he approached.

The knot in Sakura's stomach coiled tighter. Had he found out about them?

"He checked out two hours after you left," Katsuo said. "Gave up looking for you pretty fast if you ask me."

Sakura deadpanned. Had Katsuo done something to make Kakashi disappear? "We made a deal, Katsuo – you said you wouldn't hurt him."

"There was no need," Katsuo said. He reached her spot on the floor and coaxed her into a standing position. "I may have told the bartender to whisper something in his ear."

Sakura's face lit up. "Sent him on a wild goose chase?"

Katsuo smiled. "He took the bait pretty easy," he said. "Don't think your guy is very clever is he?"

Sakura saw an opening and decided to take it. "You're my guy now,' she said, tracing a finger down his chest. It made Katsuo purr. He grabbed Sakura by the ass and pulled her against him.

"I only have an hour before I gotta meet some people upstairs," Katsuo growled into her ear. "And I intend to use it all on you."

"Whoa, hang on," Sakura said. She held up a trembling finger. "It's become a lot colder in here since you left."

Katsuo leaned forward and took Sakura's finger into his mouth, where he bit her gently. "You're right," he said when he pulled away. "Let's find someplace more comfortable. He let Sakura go and made to lead her into the old whore's rooms. Sakura dug in her heels.

"You made a promise," Sakura said. "If I'm going to make you a happy man, it must be in _your_ bed, not some guest room."

Katsuo stared at her for a moment, working his mouth while he thought about it. Eventually, without another word, he turned her around and led her down a different tunnel.

The tunnel was long and narrow, and Sakura glanced around in apparent curiosity while she attempted to spot some of the hidden seals Pakkun spoke of. After seeing nothing for long enough, she realised that they were likely hidden behind a genjutsu, which she could not release at this point because Katuso would likely sense an activation in her chakra. The tunnel ended in a fork, and both paths were blocked by massive steel doors. The seals on them were so strong that Sakura could feel them radiating from several feet away.

Katsuo chose the door on the left and began to from the hand signs necessary to open it. Sakura pretended to be mesmerised by the all the seals stuck to its surface while, at the same time, taking note of what Katsuo did in her peripheral vision. Dragon, rooster, bird, ox, snake, dragon again, tiger, boar and… then the door opened. For something so heavy, Sakura expected a noise much louder than a soft click, but it was still loud enough to muffle the word Katsuo said as it opened. The hand signs opened the door, but the word disengaged the seals. Sakura wanted to kick herself.

The room was large, with a massive, unmade bed that took up most of the space. Some shelves had been cut into the stone walls, on which Katsuo stored his clothes. Sakura suspected that they were only folded because the onsen laundry service did that for him. A mirror in a heavy frame hung next to the 'wardrobe'. Cracks radiated from a central point – clearly someone had punched it.

The only thing that separated the bedroom from the bathroom was an old free standing screen decorated with geishas in suggestive positions. Sakura was certain that it formed part of the original furniture. She wondered if this was the pimp's room, or perhaps the 'penthouse' for wealthy customers. With no one to hide from, Katsuo had left the screen largely folded, revealing a toilet, an old fashioned wash area and a bath tub.

Sakura had barely taken in her surroundings when she was side tackled onto the bed. Katsuo was on top of her, nuzzling, pawing, growling. The uninvited invasion had startled her, and she reacted before her brain engaged by giving him a chakra charged kidney punch.

Katsuo cried out and arched his back. Sakura held her breath. _What had she done?_ Raw nerves from being in mission mode had put her in fight or flight…. had she gone too far?

"You crazy little pink bitch!" Katsuo exclaimed. "Warn a guy next time will you? I almost jizzed my pants!"

Sakura blinked stupidly. She had just punched the man hard enough to make him pee blood and he nearly came from the experience. The realization that he was going to be exceptionally difficult to fight later began sink in. How did you wear an opponent down when he actually _enjoyed_ getting hurt?

Katsuo pulled a knife from his belt and, in one fluid movement, cut through the straps holding up Sakura's dress. He didn't stop there either. Holding the tip of the knife alarmingly close to Sakura's vulnerable chest and abdomen, he sliced through the delicate fabric – right down the middle. Somewhere amidst the storm of fear in Sakura's mind, a little voice mourned the loss of the prettiest garment she'd ever owned. As soon as the knife was at a safe distance away from her, Sakura slapped Katsuo through the face. "That was my favourite dress," she sneered.

Katsuo chuckled. "I hope you have more punishment in store for me then," he said.

And perhaps she did. Choosing to ride the anger from being stripped and violated, Sakura grabbed the knife from Katsuo's hand and held it under his chin. "Maybe I should cut your skin the same way you cut my dress," she said.

Katsuo grinned, but his eyes were not on hers. Sakura felt her composure flicker like a candle in the breeze as soon as she realized that she was naked. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping that Katsuo would think that she was trying to calm down from her rage rather than attempting to steel herself for what was to come.

Katsuo seemed to be dealing with the bizarre challenge of having to choose between pleasure and survival – one good, well aimed stab from the knife would be the end of him, though he would probably enjoy every second of it. Sakura knew exactly where to aim too. For a moment she even considered it – if she killed him right now the mission would be over and she could move on, but then it was likely that the secret behind the cave next door would be lost forever. Some of the seals on the entrance warned of an inevitable self-destruct sequence that would take place if someone tried to enter without the correct authorization. Also, and more importantly, Katsuo was not working alone. Someone else could simply continue the operation in his place.

Sakura lowered the knife with the intention to make do on her threat of cutting him like her dress, but she wavered. The thought of hurting someone for their pleasure made her feel icky inside.

"Now, if you're a good boy…." Sakura began.

"Tell me what to do, honey," Katsuo said. "Whatever you say."

"Take off your vest," Sakura ordered, "then roll over and lie down on your back."

Katsuo obeyed and Sakura tossed the knife across the room, much to his dismay. She told him that he would have to earn that later, which, fortunately, he took as part of the game. She then began to tease him by working along his body more gently than she would on anyone, affording him the occasional nip or scratch to keep him interested. Her hands found their way to his belt buckle after she had stalled for as long as she reasonably could. She closed her eyes….

Loud explosions suddenly erupted outside, which made them both jump. Katsuo leaped out of the bed and dashed towards the source of the noise. Sakura, not wanting to be a naked, sitting duck, grabbed Katsuo's vest and pulled it over her head. She then followed behind him.

Katsuo entered the main cavern and turned down a tunnel Sakura had never entered before. He made his way into another room and immediately swore. "Fucking dog!"

Sakura's heart stopped.

"Do you have any idea what you just cost me you stupid mutt?" Katsuo scowled. He took a step into the room and Sakura followed behind him. There, in the middle of what appeared to be a cavern used for storage, Pakkun stood with a very large rat in his mouth, wagging his tail excitedly. Sakura immediately crossed her arms over her breasts, even though they were covered in the front, the sides were still uncomfortably exposed under Katsuo's wife beater.

Katsuo turned to Sakura and, after making a quick appraisal of what she was wearing, asked her if she had seen the dog before.

She decided to go with the first thought that crossed her mind, "Uh, well, I may have fed him a few times," she tried to say guiltily. "He was hanging around my suite."

Katsuo arched an eyebrow. "Well, at least he's dealing with the vermin." He turned to Pakkun. "Off with you!" he said. "There's no more food for you here."

Pakkun remained where he stood, wagging his tail even harder.

"He thinks you're praising him," Sakura said.

"Well there's one way to solve that," Katsuo said. He reached for his belt and his hands grabbed thin air. "Dammit, the knife is still in the room."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Just leave him be," she said. She decided to risk encouraging him back to the room.

"Can't," Katsuo said, brushing her off. "I have to fix these damned seals before someone tries to sneak in. Then I have to meet my client upstairs."

Sakura said a silent prayer of gratitude in her head and was once again, in Pakkun's debt. She still owed him for getting the files to Dr Nakamura back in the reformatory. If she made it out of this mission, he was in for a real treat.

Deciding that there was nothing she could do underground in the meantime, Sakura asked Katsuo if she could join him. If anything, it would absolve her of suspicion. Katsuo agreed.


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: Happy New Year everyone. I can hardly believe it has taken me over a year to finish this story. Thank you to all who have supported me. I decided to write the last three chapters all together to make sure that I tied everything up properly, hence the long wait. I am not happy with the choppy nature of the scene changes, but at this point, I just want to complete the story. Perhaps time will allow me to return and edit these last few chapters later. Thanks again for the favorites, follows and reviews. I really hope the wait will be worth it. Wishing you all the best for 2017._

* * *

It was the headache that eventually woke her up, but the thirst was a close second. Sakura groaned and rolled over as she fought the urge to be ill – again.

It was immediately evident that Katsuo was not in the room, because she could not sense him. She breathed a sigh of relief and sat up slowly in the bed. She was wearing one of Katsuo's shirts again, but the fact that she was wearing anything at all served as a huge triumph for her.

They had spent many hours in the tea house last night. No one dared to look at Sakura twice, as she suspected would happen. As far as the other patrons were concerned, she had been Katsuo's girl all along, and her 'husband' a vague memory. Behind her mask of laughter, witty comments and amorous affection, Sakura's resolve raced around like a wild rollercoaster. She bargained with herself all night, looking for any possible avenue to get out of sleeping with Katuso without compromising the mission. Underneath all of it, however, the duty bound inner kunoichi kept saying ' _get over it Sakura, it's just sex for fuck sakes'._ What did she have to lose? Her first time was a disaster, her second had been the result a drug induced impulse. So what if her third was for duty? It certainly trumped Sasuke's revulsion and Kakashi's apparent regret. Revulsion, regret and…. _redemption?_ Three R's. Maybe the third one could be something positive. But then she got sick…

Apparently while trying to make a decision, she overdid the sake anyway. Katsuo must have sensed his chance for some action slipping away and quickly excused both of them so that he could drag her back to his cave, but it was too late. After a few minutes of kissing and groping Sakura had to dash for the toilet, where she spent a long time throwing up. Her only excuse was that she was really, really glad to get rid of her 'husband' and that she may have celebrated a little too much.

Sure now that she would not get sick again, Sakura got up from the bed and made her way to the bathroom. With nothing else to do, she decided to clean herself up and to go in search of her bag to get some pain killers. But first – a glass of water!

xxx

It was almost midday when something stirred over the horizon. Genma and Kakashi sat high up amongst the foliage of their hideout and watched as the four specks drew closer. It was too difficult to tell from this distance, but at least one of them had an intensely powerful chakra.

The specks moved slowly, but eventually Kakashi could tell that they comprised of three males and a female, all dressed in civilian clothing. There was no doubt they were all trained, and that they were heading straight for the onsen.

All four of them had made an effort to disguise their identity in some way. They hid behind scarves, long hair and oddly, one even wore a muzzle. He appeared to be the strongest of them all by far – his chakra was practically visible to the naked eye. At the same time, he seemed to be in the care of the other three, judging by their body language.

Genma made a small noise in his throat. "There's something really sinister about this lot," he said.

"What makes you say that?" Kakashi asked. He wasn't being sarcastic either; Genma had been a shinobi long enough to know that clothing and chakra did not always equate to evil.

"Can't say," Genma said. "Call it a gut feeling."

xxx

It had been hours since Sakura woke up, but there was still no sign of Katsuo, and the door to his room was locked. So much time alone with nothing to occupy her mind allowed her imagination to run wild. What if he intended to make her his prisoner after all? Pakkun mentioned that Katuso was irritated about losing his supply of bodies. Even if he had not initially intended to use her for spare parts, perhaps he had reconsidered. He already knew her blood type – he had asked her about it during their 'courting' phase, which was a very normal thing to do. Of course, she knew better. What if she was the blood type he needed? No one would miss her – or come looking for her, as far as he was concerned. He had nothing to lose! She could escape, she thought – after all she knew the hand signs to open the door, but she had missed the verbal seal that would disengage the alarm.

It was while Sakura was pacing nervously around the bed when she heard the screams. They were heavily muffled by thick layers of rock, but they were human screams nonetheless – a male human. They were sharp, urgent and sheer agony. She wondered who it was, and she worried more that she might be next. She ran to the door and stood there, her mind racing with all the possible consequences of opening it herself – whether it was to save the screaming man, or simply to save herself.

It took all of ten minutes before her dilemma was resolved for her. Katsuo opened the door from outside.

"Mayu!" he said sharply, "I'm glad you're up… and dressed," he arched an eyebrow at the dress she was wearing. "I need your help. Now."

Sakura blinked, unsure of how to gauge the situation. She followed the sand-nin out of his room and, expectedly, into the other heavily protected cavern.

This was clearly no bedroom, and the cavern was three times larger than the one next door. Most of it was shrouded in darkness, though Sakura sensed that there were people lurking in the shadows beyond her field of vision. What was most pressing at this point was the man on the operating table – a man screaming at the top of his voice for them to kill him. Nobu stood over him, but he seemed more concerned about the man breaking his restraints than the pain he seemed to be enduring. There was no clear evidence of injury, not to Sakura's eyes anyway.

"He's gone bezerk," Katsuo said. He may as well have been talking about the weather. "I think we might have pushed him too far this time. Do you think you'll be able to heal him?"

Sakura was immediately in business mode. She had seen so much at the hospital back home – especially when she treated ANBU. She doubted it was anything she couldn't fix.

The man on the table was someone she did not recognize. He had wild red hair and presently, his eyes were red too, both irises and whites alike. Even his skin had taken on a crimson hue. His veins strained against taught muscle as he tried to free himself from the restraints on the bed.

Sakura placed her hands on the man's chest and sent some exploratory chakra into him. The feedback made her want to be ill all over again. This man's chakra signature was like a box full of tangled string – all different colors and all in knots. It reminded her of a chimera – it reminded her a little of Kakashi and his foreign eye. That was when she realized what was going on – this man's organs were not his own. The revulsion hit her so hard she flinched physically, lifting her hands away just enough to break the connection and allow for some temporary relief.

"Well?" Katsuo asked. He stood with his arms folded casually across his chest. "Can you fix him?"

Sakura swallowed and nodded reluctantly. Then she placed her hands on the writhing man once more. It was bad enough that each organ was not his own, but most of them were in serious jeopardy. A little more pressure and they would rupture, especially his liver and his spleen. She decided to save those first.

It took the better part of an hour for the man to return to normal. The redness in his eyes and skin subsided, resulting in a far less alarming ochre-colored set of irises. He focused his gaze on Sakura and after a brief assessment of her, he began to plead. "Please, let me go!" he cried. "I haven't done anything to hurt anyone, I beg you please…!"

Sakura kept her face solemn, which was easier to do with such a blinding hangover, but her heart ached for this man. She could only imagine what these monsters had put him through. She turned to Nobu and asked as casually as she could if they had any sedatives. Turned out they did. Sakura took the syringe from Nobu's scrawny hand and held it to her patient's neck, trying very hard to ignore his desperate pleas for mercy. The liquid had barely emptied when his eyes rolled back and he went quiet. "There," she said. "That'll shut him up for a while."

Katsuo was delighted, and rattled off a series of compliments, followed with promises to reward her later – in the bedroom. While Sakura did not relish the idea of being rewarded in kind, she could not deny her relief at being given an opportunity to get her foot in the door. Finally, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Katsuo attempted to shoo her away so that he could speak to Nobu, but she would have none of it. "If you want me to keep this man alive, there cannot be any secrets," she said, hoping that it sounded more like concern for her patient than an attempt to gather intel. "I almost lost him today," she added for good measure, "And I can tell that he's been, uh, _tampered_ with."

Katuso and Nobu exchanged glances, and it was Nobu who nodded first. Sakura realized that he must have been the primary medic for this operation. Katsuo appeared to relent and guided her to a screen door that was hiding a part of the cavern. He must have closed it before she came in to help with his patient. She pulled the screen to one side, which revealed a large table. The instruments and paraphernalia on its surface reminded Sakura of something she would find in one of Orochimaru's hideouts. She shivered.

Nobu shuffled over and wedged his way between them. With long, gangly fingers he began to organize the vials and beakers into separate groups. Having worked extensively in toxicology, Sakura was already making sense of what she saw, and she did not like it.

"This here," Nobu said in his strange nasally voice, "is a gene activator…"

Sakura already knew that, but what gene was he hoping to activate exactly? She nodded her head to encourage Nobu to continue when a man appeared in the doorway. It was one of Katsuo's body guards.

"There's someone here to see you, boss," the body guard said. "Four people to be exact."

Katsuo's face broke into a vile grin – apparently he was expecting these visitors. He rubbed his hands together as he told his body guard that he would be topside in a minute. Sakura could scream… she was getting so close!

With a promise that they would continue their explanation, Katsuo and Nobu excused themselves and made to leave. As Katsuo turned his back, he whispered a short phrase. This time Sakura was ready for it, and was immediately aware that he had activated something. It explained why he had left her in there alone. As soon as there was enough distance between her and Katsuo, she whispered the word _release_ , and that was when all the seals appeared – tiny symbols glowing white in the dim cavern. If she touched anything, Katsuo would know about it, and while she had heard the activation phrase, she did not know the words needed to deactivate the seals. She decided that she would have to try to get as much information as she could just by observing what was on the table.

While she was poring over the strange liquids and instruments, Sakura missed the first sound. The second was a little louder and she had to hold her breath to hear the third. Sure enough it was her fake name – Mayu, and it was being whispered from behind her, from somewhere in the shadows. _No! It couldn't be!_ She thought to herself.

Sakura cast a cautionary glance towards the doorway and, content that the coast was clear, went over to the source of the voice. It turned out the darkened area of the cavern melted into a wall of black drapes. Once she ascertained that there were no seals to disrupt, Sakura parted them. She had to cover her own mouth to block the sound that would otherwise escape.

The metal cage was too low to stand up in, and so the blonde girl inside was lying down, not that she would have been strong enough to stand up anyway. Her usually piercing blue eyes had gone dull from pain, fear and loneliness. Sakura crouched and held out her hand – she had to feel for herself that Chika was indeed still alive.

"I thought it was you," the girl whispered weakly. "Are you here to get me out?"

Sakura glanced over her shoulder, terrified that she would be caught talking to the girl. She would have to keep their exchange brief. "I'm going to try," she whispered to Chika, "but to do that I have to pretend I'm their friend. Do you understand?"

Chika nodded, her gaze not unlike that of a frightened animal. Her arms were covered in scabs and bruises – multiple injections sites. Apparently, to Katsuo and Nobu, she may as well have been an animal, the kind one found in a lab.

"I might need to be horrible to you, but I don't mean it for real, okay?" Sakura said. "Once they trust me, I'll be able to get you out."

Chika's hands curled around the bars and she tried to pull herself into a sitting position. Sakura urgently waved her down, but the blonde persisted. "You have to get me out," she cried. "They already killed the last girl. They'll use me next …"

Sakura put her hand through the bars and shushed Chika. She couldn't bear to hear any more. "They'll hear us," she said. "I'm going to leave you now, but I promise I'll be back, okay?"

Tears brimmed in Chika's eyes, but she nodded again and Sakura immediately replaced the curtain that covered her cage. She had spent too long talking as it was. She made a mental note to ask Katsuo how he had managed to 'kill' Chika and later bring her back to life as soon as he had teleported her to the cavern. It would likely be valuable information to feed back to Tsunade. Perhaps it could aid their work at the hospital.

The contents on the table had given Sakura two important clues – first, that Katsuo was working on activating a rare bloodline limit and second, that he was able to prevent organ rejection by 'preparing' the organ donors beforehand. She was so damn close to completing this mission she could taste it. She only needed a few more details and she could send a report with Pakkun. Kakashi and Genma would arrive with a plan, eliminate the targets and then they would be on their way home…

Voices from inside the main cavern made Sakura jump, even though she had been expecting them. She scuttled over to her sleeping patient and pretended to be examining him when the men returned. There was no doubt that Katsuo's visitor was immensely powerful, but she supressed the urge to look up.

"Mayu," Katsuo said, "I want you to meet the new member of our team."

Now that she had an invitation, Sakura looked up from her patient and immediately went white.

"Hello Pinky," the man said, grinning ear to ear, "Ruzen has been asking about you."

xxx

The sky had turned purple and the first stars were out. Kakashi was too busy worrying to appreciate them this time; like Genma, he had a bad feeling about the new arrivals. Less than half an hour after the four entered the onsen, three of them came out again, and left the same way they had come. The only one missing from their party was the strongest one – the one Genma did not like. There was little doubt in Kakashi's mind that this man had something to do with Katsuo, which meant that it would involve Sakura as well. It did not help that Genma was more agitated than usual. He had refused their evening meal, which was very unlike him.

Kakashi had spent the better part of an hour deliberating about whether he should send another nin-dog to sniff around when Pakkun appeared just outside their hideout. Kakashi's heart stopped.

"Sakura is safe, for now," Pakkun began. He must have sensed Kakashi's anguish.

"Has this got something to do with the newcomer?" Kakashi asked. He heard Genma get up from his hiding place and walk towards them.

Pakkun nodded. "Sakura has not sent a report, but I managed to do some eavesdropping."

"Good," Kakashi replied. "What did you hear?"

Pakkun explained that he overheard a conversation between Katsuo and Nobu while they were on their way to fetch their guest. Katsuo was complaining that it was too soon – that he wanted their guest to be fixed by the psychiatrists before he joined them, but now that Yuu was dead, their supply of bodies had been cut off and they needed to proceed to the next step sooner than they wanted.

"Which is?" Kakashi asked.

"Unfortunately they did not discuss that," Pakkun replied. "What I can say is that they are conducting medical experiments on a civilian. They let Sakura in today for the first time."

The fact that Sakura was making progress pleased Kakashi, and he knew that if that civilian had any hope of surviving, she was his best bet. But at what cost? What did Sakura have to do to earn Katsuo's trust? How long before he used her as his next guinea pig?

"So who was the newcomer?" Genma asked.

"Tetsuya," Pakkun replied. "Bloodbath Tetsuya."


	16. Chapter 16

"Are you out of your mind?" Sakura cried. The door to their cavern had barely been closed when she decided to unleash her fury. Under different circumstances, she would have come apart at the impending interrogation that she would have to endure – it looked very fishy that Tetsuya recognised her after she was supposed to be an inmate in a different part of the reformatory. But right now, she was more concerned for her life than her disguise. "That man is psycho! He'll kill us all – and all it takes is for his _imaginary_ friend to say the word…"

Katsuo looked bewildered. "How do you know all of this, exactly?"

Sakura stopped mid rant and glared at him. "Are you listening to me?" she asked. "You've just set a cat loose amongst…"

"I had no choice, alright?" Katsuo replied. "With Yuu gone I don't have what I need to keep my experiment alive."

 _Experiment?_ Sakura thought. That poor man in the cavern next door was nothing more than an _experiment_ to him. Only kami knew what agony he had endured so far, and that wasn't counting all the people who had died to keep him alive in the meantime. But she held her tongue on that – as angry and scared as she was, she still had the presence of mind to maintain some of her cover. "How is that man supposed to keep your patient alive?" She asked. "He's only good at one thing, and that's killing."

"I'll tell you if you give me a good enough explanation for how you know him," Katsuo replied.

Sakura steeled herself. So far, the 'truth' had worked for her, and she dearly hoped that it would win out once more. She told Katsuo about her visit to Tetsuya's cell as Dr Nakamura's bodyguard, and that the only reason it happened was because she was not only a medic, but a kunoichi as well, a combination not already available amongst the 'sane' staff. The psychiatrist had taken a chance depending on Sakura, but apparently she felt she was in more danger going in to see Tetsuya alone.

Blessedly, Katsuo bought it, at least, he appeared to buy it. "He told me the same thing," he said. "He just didn't know that you were also an inmate."

"How could he?" Sakura asked. "I don't think I should be an inmate either. I think all kunoichi's should enjoy hurting people – it would make us more effective that way."

If Katsuo was thinking of prying deeper, he was swayed by that comment. Which was what Sakura hoped. "You seem to be in good control of that uh, _impulse_ ," he growled. "Frankly, I'm a little disappointed."

It was a fair enough assessment, Sakura thought, but one she was prepared for, given that she had managed to get out of her 'duty' by drinking too much last night. "The meds can take over a week to wear off," she said. "I learned that once when I stopped taking them for a while in the reformatory. They didn't know, of course, but when I started hurting people again, they made me take liquid meds instead. That way they could make sure it went down." She made a face of disgust for good measure. "I haven't felt like myself in ages."

Katsuo raised an eyebrow. "I'm having a difficult time believing that," he said.

Sakura's heart sank. It was time to face just how much her overindulgence last night might have cost her.

Katsuo stalked up towards Sakura and grabbed her chin in his hand. "Don't think I've missed the coincidence that, shortly after you turned up, my supplier has turned out dead."

Sakura could barely breathe, and she was beginning to shake. "Supplier?" she asked.

Katsuo held her gaze for a second longer and let her go. He turned his back on her and walked a few paces towards the broken mirror, where he stood with his arms folded. "Who are you?" he asked.

Sakura's mind reeled with possible answers, but she couldn't think of anything better than her existing story. How was she supposed to make him believe her? She really shouldn't have had so much to drink last night… what had she done? She was so fucking close to completing this mission…

 _No!_ Sakura thought. She did not come this far for it to end like this. This mission had taxed her on every level and there was no way in hell she was going to let it all be for nothing. Fuck that. Deciding that she had nothing left to lose, she marched over to Katsuo, knowing full well that he could see her in the mirror. She swept up the knife that was still lying on the floor from yesterday and made to plunge it into his neck. She did not hold back.

Katsuo turned around in time to divert the worst of the attack, but not before the knife left a nasty gash in his left trap. Sakura flipped around gracefully and landed on the bed like a cat on three legs, maintaining a firm grasp of the knife in her free hand.

Katsuo gauged the extent of his wound, but decided it was not serious. He actually looked disappointed in fact. He directed his full attention on his attacker instead, his eyes burning. "I knew you had it in you," he growled.

Sakura's stomach fluttered, but adrenaline kept her in full kunoichi mode. Her cover was blown – her life was probably in serious danger, and if she screwed this up, she'd be in that cage with Chika in no time. No fucking way…

Katsuo started to close the gap between them, but Sakura had no intention of letting him control the situation. She leaped from her perch on the bed tried to attack him again, but he managed to defend it. Apparently the Kazekage only expected the best in his body guards – she'd do well to remember that.

Sakura used the wall to throw herself to the other side of the room, and decided then that the room was too small to contain their fight. She immediately formed the seals to open the door.

"You sneaky little bitch!" Katsuo cried, but it was too late. The door cracked open and a deafening siren went off. Katsuo covered his ears with his hands while Sakura managed to dash through the gap. She hurtled down the stone tunnel towards the main cavern, expecting to continue the fight in there. She could hear Katsuo close behind and her mind raced with all the possible ways in which to engage him.

Sakura entered the main cavern was suddenly aware that her escape route stood open. There was nothing stopping her from running straight back into the onsen, where it would be a lot more difficult for Katsuo to kill her. Shit… but that meant abandoning Chika. She couldn't do that.

Sakura stopped dead on the cold stone and spun around, her hands in front of her face – she was ready for the bastard.

Katsuo was on her in a second, but he remained unarmed. He had obviously realized that by opting to grab a weapon first, he risked letting her escape. He grinned like at her like a fox. "Do your worst, princess."

Sakura didn't move. "You want me, come get me," she said. "I'm your worst fucking nightmare right now."

Katsuo licked his lips. 'Is that a promise?"

Sakura's skin crawled. This guy was unbelievable. She wanted to hurt him so badly, and not for his pleasure, but for hers. She tensed as he drew closer, his eyes narrowing on his prey.

Sakura charged her fist with chakra and launched it at Katsuo at the first opportunity. He moved out of the way just in time, and tried to grab her instead. Sakura squirmed out of his grasp and caught him by the wrist, which she pulled up behind his back and up between his shoulder blades into a nasty arm lock. He hissed and arched sharply. "Oh yes!" he cried.

Sakura brandished her knife and pressed the point under his jaw, suddenly very suspicious at how easy that had been. She felt him swallow against it.

"Easy there honey," he growled. "I can't fuck you if I'm dead."

Thank kami he was facing away from her, because the confusion on Sakura's face must have looked comical. She had him – it was game over. She won. Was he screwing with her? She yanked his arm higher.

"Ah!" Katsuo cried. "You trying to break it or what?

Sakura's mind raced. Was this some kind of fucked up foreplay to him or what? Her hand shook from holding the knife a hair's breadth between life and death – one jerk and he'd be dead. And yet, he was getting off on it. Or was he having her on…?

In the end, could she risk taking the chance? If she let him go, what stopped him from getting her in the same position later?

Sakura often wondered, years later, what would have happened if Tetsuya had walked in ten seconds later. What would he have done if he found her standing over Katsuo's dead body wielding the murder weapon? Tetsuya was the last person she would want to face alone.

"What's going on here?"

Sakura felt Katsuo relax against her hold on him. "Can't you see we're busy?" he asked.

"Looks like you could use some help," Tetsuya said. He stood with his arms folded, his yellow eyes flicking between Katsuo and Sakura, clearly unsure of what to make of the situation.

Before Sakura's brain could engage, she had let go of Katsuo, and he stood up while massaging his sore shoulder joint. "It's a game we like to play," he said.

Tetsuya arched an eyebrow, and Sakura saw his eyes flick downwards. "Okay…"

Sakura felt Katsuo's fingers dig into her upper arm. "How about we go to the lab," he said, to both of them. "I'm sure our patient will be awake by now."

Tetsuya broke his stance and walked towards the tunnel. As soon as his back was turned, Sakura felt rough hands on her jaw. She supressed a squeak as Katsuo pulled her into a rough kiss. "That was hot," he purred. "Soon as I'm rid of him, we'll finish this, eh?"

Sakura suddenly realized why Tetsuya was acting strangely. Katsuo had a raging hard on. He pushed Sakura in front of him and she followed the psycho-nin down the tunnel.

Their 'patient' was indeed awake, and was groaning from pain and discomfort. Sakura may have healed him, but it would take days for the pain in his organs to subside. Nobu took no notice of him, and continued to fiddle with the equipment on the table.

"And here he is," Katsuo announced. "One of the last remaining Kyobono."

Sakura wanted to kick herself. Of course. A kyobono was a berserker – a bloodline limit that gave a shinobi superior strength and healing ability during a fight. Their distinguishing colour was red – red hair, eyes, skin. She'd read that, when a kyobono had been injured badly enough, his endorphins would trigger the bloodline limit and the kyobono would go on a blind rampage, killing everything in sight. They were not particularly popular in the hidden villages, because once they'd gone berserk they often turned on their own team as well. Over time, the bloodline limit had begun to die out.

"I should be one too," Katsuo added. "But my brother inherited the gene, and I didn't." He stared disdainfully at the man on the table.

Sakura wanted to be ill. She had seen no resemblance at first, but now that she looked closely…

"Wasted his gifts," Katsuo continued, "chose a simple life – marriage, kids..."

She wanted to kill Katsuo with all her heart now. He didn't deserve to be alive. What kind of human being did this to their own kin? She had to hide her frown, however, because Katsuo had turned to her.

"Tetsuya will take some of his blood," he said. "And if his organs start to fail under the stress of the gene activator, he will hold them together.

"You can do that?" Sakura asked.

"Sure can, Pinky," Tetsuya replied. He was admiring some of the scars on his arm. "I can kill, and I can heal."

"But you can't heal yourself?" It was out of her mouth before she could stop it. Damn her unbridled curiosity.

"Can't kill myself either," Tetusya replied. He was done inspecting himself. "And I can't receive healing because my body is designed to reject foreign chakra. Protection against people like me."

"Wow," was all Sakura could say. Tsunade would have been doing her head in. If by some miracle Sakura managed to bring this man back to Konaha, he'd be on one of the Godaime's examination tables in a heartbeat. So would Katsuo, now that she thought about it.

Katsuo frowned. Was that a streak of jealousy? "Anyway," he said into the renewed silence, "Nobu is attempting to isolate the kyobono gene so that he can transfer it into me."

He didn't need to say that part. As soon as Sakura realized what Katsuo wanted, all the pieces of the puzzle came together. Her mystery was solved. Now she just needed to…

Tetsuya gave a sudden, sharp hiss. "We have company," he said.

Sakura squinted into the gloom behind Tetsuya, but the tunnel appeared empty. "You can hear someone?" she asked.

Tetsuya's face split into a grin. "I thought you were up to something, Pinky."

Sakura frowned. "I don't understand…"

A loud cry echoed from the main cavern. It was a voice Sakura recognized. What on earth was going on?

"Like I said to you earlier, this girl is not who you think she is," Tetsuya said, looking up at Katsuo.

xxx

Kakashi knelt on the stone floor above his comrade, who lay clutching at his chest in agony. Pakkun, sans his uniform, stood at the entrance to the tunnel, his tiny claws clicking as he danced on the spot with urgency.

"Genma," Kakashi cried. He was shaking the special Jonin's shoulder. "Have you been hit?"

Genma shook his head. "No, I just," he grunted from the pain. "My heart feels like it's going to explode."

Kakashi looked up at Pakkun, who seemed to be in an awful hurry to move forward. Gemna lay still on the floor, taking slow deliberate breaths to ease whatever agony he was in. Kakashi didn't know what to do. Gauging by Pakkun's behaviour, Sakura was in trouble, but right now, so was Genma.

"I'm alright," Genma said suddenly. He began to lift himself from the ground. "The pain's subsiding."

"What do you think it is?" Kakashi asked.

Genma shook his head. "I came in through the entrance first," he said. "Perhaps I triggered a trap or something."

Kakashi waited another minute for Genma to steady himself, and then they were following Pakkun again. They padded silently down the stone tunnel, their senses on high alert.

"…why don't you come a little closer, Pinky," came a voice up from up ahead. "I just want a taste of you."

It was Kakashi's turn to feel pain in his heart, but that had nothing to do with triggering a trap.

"Oh, she tastes just fine," said another voice. Kakashi recognized it instantly from the onsen: Katsuo. "I know first-hand."

Kakashi stopped just short of the door to the lab, keeping tightly to the shadows, and Genma close behind. The door was ajar, and he could see Katsuo and Sakura standing inside the room. Katsuo was holding her from behind, a possessive hand down her front. A mixture of jealousy and sadness crept over the copy nin. So Sakura had slept with the rogue after all.

"Our guests have arrived," the first voice said. He was standing just out of view, behind the door. Kakashi's adrenaline spiked. How on earth…?

Genma cried out again and grabbed his chest. The door to the lab flew open and Tetsuya stood in its threshold. Kakashi recognized him instantly from the bingo books, and for the first time, real fear began to latch its icy claws into his nerves. "So you're the 'warden' Yuu organized for me," Tetsuya said, cocking his head at Genma. "Funny how this all worked out."

"What the fuck?" Kakashi said aloud. He had a kunai in his hand and stood ready to fight.

Tetsuya shrugged. "I needed to get out." He said. "Those quack shrinks were giving me drugs and blocking Ruzen. So I bribed the medicine guy to bring me the blood of a warden – that way I could have some leverage." He sighed. "Of course, when it came to using it, said warden was nowhere to be found – and now he turns up here."

Kakashi turned around to see that Genma was gawking at Tetsuya, his face white as a sheet. "The mirror," Genma whispered. "That's why Yuu was so eager to clean it up for me."

Kakashi went cold. If Tetsuya had made a blood bond with Genma, then his comrade was as good as dead. He watched as Genma's fingers dug into the fabric of his jacket, trying uselessly to protect his heart.

"You two here to rescue Pinky?" Tetsuya asked, jabbing a thumb towards Sakura.

Kakashi looked up to see the kunochi as white as Genma, her eyes wide as she struggled against Katsuo's firm grip. What had looked like a hand on Sakura's breast initially was actually Katsuo holding a knife at her ribs beneath her clothes.

"How about…" Tetsuya started chuckling as he spoke, "how about you two come stand in here," he stood aside and gestured into the lab.

Kakashi and Genma hesitated, but a squeeze on Genma's heart made him gasp, and Kakashi decided immediately to comply. Both shinobi stepped past Tetsuya, and he closed the door behind them. Kakashi scanned the room for Pakkun, but the little nin dog was likely hiding somewhere safe, or on his way to fetch backup – if there was even such a thing available.

"Now," Tetsuya continued. He walked over to Sakura and grabbed a fistful of her hair. "You two can stand over there, and watch as Katsuo and I have our way with miss Pink over here…"

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Kakashi cried. He couldn't stop himself. He could hardly bear the thought of those filthy claws on his Sakura – watching it would be too much.

"Or what?" Tetsuya challenged. Genma's cry told Kakashi all he needed to know. It was either Genma, or Sakura. He couldn't have both.

Tetsuya tightened his grip on Sakura's hair and yanked her head back, exposing her mouth and neck to him. She snarled at him, but did not resist. She must have been worried about Genma too. Kakashi watched as the rogue nin put his mouth over Sakura's. His heart may as well have been caught in a blood bond too. He shook his head. _Think_! He said to himself. If Tetsuya is too busy enjoying Sakura, then his guard would be down. If there was any chance of…

A loud roar interrupted Kakashi's thoughts. Tetsuya howled in pain and stepped back from Sakura, where he pawed at his bleeding mouth. Kakashi watched as Sakura used Katsuo's momentary confusion to throw him over her head, so that he flipped and landed hard on his back against the stone floor. He writhed against the hard surface as Sakura dashed over to Genma's side.

Kakashi did not waste any time. He went straight for Tetsuya, who had already recovered from Sakura's bite. His chin was covered in blood from his split lip.

x

Sakura skidded across the floor on her knees to Genma, who was buckled over from pain. She pressed her hands against his chest and sent a burst of healing chakra into his heart, which strained and fluttered from Tetsuya's manipulation. She could sense the blood bond – a foreign trace floating through Genma's own chakra. It wasn't there when she checked on him back at the hospital. Perhaps the bond was only traceable when it was active. She had no idea how to remove it though, and decided that all she could do was try to counteract anything Tetsuya did inside the jonin. The problem, however, was that there was no one left to fight Katsuo.

The sand nin arched his back and in one fluid movement, was on his feet again. He shook his head and rolled his eyes with pleasure. He still had the knife in his hand, and he began to twirl it in his fingers as he approached Sakura. She still smarted at her stupidity. He had simply taken it from her, in the brief moment that she thought her cover was still intact – before Tetsuya pulled the plug on her.

Kakashi danced around Tetsuya like a mongoose fighting a cobra. He stepped in to land a hit, and stepped out just as fast, before Tetsuya could get near him. All the rogue needed was one hit… one drop of blood.

Genma's heart tightened and he cried out again. Sakura forced chakra into his body and managed to loosen some of Tetsuya's hold. Tetsuya must have sensed her efforts, because he dared a nasty glare in her direction before having to counteract one of Kakashi's attacks. With Katsuo approaching fast, Sakura needed to think.

As long as Genma was alive, Tetsuya had leverage – which explained why he hadn't killed the special jonin yet. He also didn't have a blood bond with anyone else, that she could tell anyway. He certainly didn't have one on her, and so far, Kakashi was unscathed.

It was risky, but it was also her only option. Sakura whispered in Genma's ear that she was going to leave him for a while to fight Katsuo. He managed a nod and Sakura reluctantly retracted her chakra. She twisted around to face Katsuo.

"Just the way I like you, honey," Katsuo purred. "On your knees."

Sakura snarled. She wanted to see him dead more than anything else in the world. She launched herself from the ground and ploughed straight into him.

Katsuo anticipated the attack, and avoided it easily. Sakura's rage consumed her, and she attacked him like a frenzied wild animal. She could not remember the last time she was this angry. The problem, however, that every blow she landed, gave him pleasure, not pain. He was enjoying every moment of their fight. For the first time she wondered how he would respond to pleasure instead of pain…

The epiphany hit her like an anvil. Without any hesitation, Sakura somersaulted over a swipe from Katsuo and she dashed across to Genma, who sat transfixed and frustrated at not being able to contribute to the fighting. He had already tried to fling a few senbon at their adversaries, but he was at the mercy of the pain in his chest.

"Quick," Sakura cried. "Give me one of your needles."

Genma frowned, but did not argue. Sakura was a medic. If there was anyone who could use them it was her. He fished out a handful of them and placed them in Sakura's urgently beckoning hand. She did not have time to thank him, because she had already turned to face Katsuo.

A few punches were thrown, Sakura barely avoided a stab to her gut and counteracted it with a kick to Katsuo's face. He ducked in exactly the way she hoped, and she used his lowered height to wrap an arm around his throat. She had less than a second to finish this.

"Enjoy this one, you sick fuck," she cried and stabbed the senbon into his back. She remembered the spot exactly, after Genma had done it to her a few weeks ago.

Any normal human being would enjoy a burst of euphoric pleasure, but not Katsuo. He shrieked with a blood curdling pitch that made Sakura realize that he did not experience real pain very often. It was as she'd hoped – the wiring in his brain that governed pain and pleasure had been muddled.

"Take it out! Take it out!" Katsuo cried. His eyeballs were almost popping out of his head, his mouth open in a grotesque scream. Sakura never thought she'd enjoy watching someone suffer so much. She did not have time to savor it though, and with Katuso's guard down, she snatched the knife from him and plunged it into his neck. The resulting spray covered her face and hair in red splatter.

Katsuo's death rattle did not go unnoticed, and as soon as the sand-nin's body went limp, Tetsuya realized that he was outnumbered. Expectedly, Tetsuya immediately changed his strategy, choosing to exploit his only ace in this fight. Sakura was already at Genma's side, her chakra forming a protective shield around his heart. He was already weak from a lack of oxygen, because for the last fifteen minutes, his circulation had been severely compromised.

Within a few seconds, the room had gone completely still – tensions high, adrenaline pumping, and no one dared to breathe. Kakashi stood poised to deliver a fatal blow to Tetsuya, Tetsuya stood staring dangerously at Genma, while Sakura stared back at Tetsuya with her hands on Genma's chest. "Check!" Tetsuya said.

Sakura quickly assessed the situation – unless Tetsuya had managed to form a blood bond with Kakashi, he had two options. Kill Genma and deal with two very angry Konaha jonin, or make a deal that they let him leave alive, while he spared Genma in return.

"Let him live!" a voice bellowed from somewhere in the cavern. Everyone looked around, including Sakura. The voice was dry, and grating. Sakura couldn't tell if it was male or female.

"Who was that?" Tetsuya cried.

"Ruzen," the voice replied.

Tetsuya glanced around, his eyes wide. "No you're not."

"You dare question me?" the voice replied. "Do you want me to teach you another lesson?"

Sakura was still unsure of the source of the voice, but it was definitely getting to Tetsuya, who continued to scan the cavern.

"I said, let him live," the voice said again.

"You're not fucking Ruzen!" Tetsuya cried.

A gut wrenching cackle erupted - its raspy hacking bounced around the walls of the cavern. "You want to test me?"

Tetsuya put his head between his hands and shook it. It was the opportunity Kakashi needed, and he wasted no time. He leapt into the air, spun Tetsuya around by the shoulder and plunged his kunai into the rogue's chest.

Tetsuya made a nasty noise in his throat while clawing at the fatal wound. Sakura felt his hold on Genma release instantly, and the special jonin gasped dramatically as his heart began to beat properly again. Tetusya fell to his knees, blood pouring through his fingers and onto the floor. He tried to say something to Kakashi, who stood over him with an expression of cold heartlessness. He felt nothing for the dying nin at his feet.

Suddenly, Sakura realized where the voice had been coming from. She got to her feet and dashed to the back of the cavern, where she saw that the black drapes had been parted slightly. Big blue eyes stared back at her from a pale gaunt face. "I don't know if it helped…?"

Sakura used a simple jutsu to unlock Chika's cage. She opened it with clumsy enthusiasm, and hauled the girl out and into her arms. "You have no idea!" Sakura cried as she embraced the weak blonde.


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: I really hope this chapter was worth the wait..._

* * *

The trip back home took much longer than the trip to the reformatory. Katsuo's brother, Kenshin, was very weak from having endured months of torture and experimentation. Chika was in better condition, but did not have nearly the same kind of stamina as the Konaha three.

Kakashi had managed to fly a message back to Konaha. ANBU would be flooding the onsen soon, investigating and stripping Katsuo's hideout. They would also be bringing back the bodies of both Tetsuya and Katsuo, so that Konaha medics could probe them for their secrets. There was only one loose end, which was Katsuo's lab assistant, Nobu. He managed to slip away during the commotion, and had since disappeared.

Kenshin spoke about Katsuo's jealousy over the bloodline limit, and how he was hoping to identify and extract the gene. Chika spoke about her ordeal as an extra body bag, and how she was receiving injections every day so that when they were ready to harvest organs from her, Kenshin would not reject them. Sakura shuddered when she realized that Kenshin was blood type A – the same as her.

When asked about how Chika knew about Ruzen, she explained that Katsuo and Nobu spoke openly in the lab. They were deliberating about bringing Tetsuya in after Yuu had died, but Katsuo was reluctant because he was still very schizophrenic, and had to explain everything about Ruzen to Nobu. He had been getting his information from Yuu, who seemed to have his fingers in everything at the reformatory.

Sakura intended on putting a clear description of Nobu in the bingo books, because he was the only one left alive who knew how to kill someone long enough to teleport them. Unfortunately, all Chika remembered was going to sleep in her room one night, and waking up again in her cage. Sakura could not feel anything in Chika's chakra that could provide any clues.

Overall, despite the messy conclusion, Sakura considered the mission an overall success. The culprits were caught, their methods and motivation exposed, and now the Katoka inmates were safe once more. Sakura should have been happy, but she could not bring herself to feel that way.

It was difficult admitting that she was not cut out for ANBU, and while she recognized that it had more to do with character than ability, it still stung that she was not good enough for something. It was even harder having to deal with the new, uncomfortable dynamic between her and her former sensei.

Kakashi spent most of the trip avoiding her. Any of her questions were met with clipped answers that left no room for further conversation. He flinched at her touch, and always slept on the opposite side of their camp, no matter which spot she chose.

Her own feelings for him were muddled, confusing and complicated. It was finally clear in her mind that she had been desperately seeking his approval all this time, but she was not ready to deal with the underlying motives. There was also the matter that her heart fluttered every time she looked up at him, and her dreams were assaulted by images of them together, in bed, naked. In the end, Sakura concluded that her special training had taken its toll on Kakashi, and that as soon as they were back home, he would disappear from her life.

xxx

Kakashi cursed his current circumstances. A four day trip had turned into eight, because of two civilians that needed to be escorted back to the village. If the roads weren't so dangerous, he would have made an excuse to run ahead of the party – to get away from them – from Sakura.

He needed to be alone, to make sense of the chaos in his heart and head. He had been driven mad with worry and jealousy while he waited for Sakura to gather information in Katsuo's hideout. He had hoped selfishly the whole time that Sakura would not go near Katsuo, and even though it was an unrealistic wish, he still couldn't cope with the idea that Sakura had been with another man – mission or not. It was this that bothered him most. He felt nothing about who slept with who. He would bang a girl one day, and she would get with another man the next. It never bothered him in the slightest. At first he tried to blame his jealousy on a protective instinct left behind from team seven days. Over time, however, he started to realise that the revelation was bullshit. All he could hope at this stage, was that once he was home, he could melt back into his usual routine and forget about his feelings for Sakura, which he hoped were a bizarre by-product of having taken Serotex with her.

Kakashi loved his village, and seeing it gates appear over the horizon always filled him with joy, and quite often relief as well. Today, he felt both, because it meant his torment would be over soon. The party stepped through the entrance, announced their arrival to the guards, and made straight for the tower to report to the Godaime, who awaited them with great expectation. Doubtless she wanted to know if Sakura had passed Kakashi's test, and if he would be her second reference for ANBU. His answer, in this case, was yes. She had passed with flying colors as far as he was concerned, loathe as he was to admit it.

Chika and Kenshin were taken straight to the hospital, and the three jonin stood in Tsunade's office, where they explained everything she wanted to know. Blessedly, she only asked superficial questions, and so there was no need to talk about Sakura's special training. It would have to appear in their written reports, but that way they wouldn't have to face her.

It was time to separate at last, and after some obligatory exchanges outside the tower, they all went their separate ways. Kakashi went straight for his flat on the opposite end of the village. He had been given three days to recover, and he intended to make the most of them.

xxx

Sakura and Genma were both tired, but the high of the mission hadn't left them yet, even after days of travel. They decided to meet at a bar to enjoy a few drinks together. Sakura went home first to have a shower, where she washed away the road and every last remaining trace of the mission. She wished she could run a cloth between her ears to clean out the unsavory memories as well, but those weren't going anywhere.

The pub was busy, bustling with nin of all levels and qualifications. Genma and Sakura found exactly what they wanted there – familiar faces and a good atmosphere. No hiding and no secrecy – they could be themselves, get shamelessly drunk and not have a care in world for the first time in over a month. Sakura had no idea just how taxing long, undercover missions could be, and understood for the first time why she so often saw ANBU being social like this.

xxx

It was dark when Kakashi woke up. He hated it when his circadian rhythm went upside down, and three days had not been enough to set it right. If he was honest with himself, however, it was not as if he'd been making a concerted effort to fix it though. Since his return to Konaha, he had spent most of his time drinking, fucking and sleeping. The first two usually happened at night, so that left daytime to sleep. He couldn't even be sure how many women he'd slept with since he returned. Some were new, others were old time fuck buddies. It didn't matter, however, because none of them were Sakura.

Kakashi checked the time. It was just after nine in the evening. His bed still smelled of his last girl, who must have snuck out while he was asleep. He was tempted to go out again, but he was due to meet Tsunade the next day. A cool breeze blew in through his open window, the curtains breathing along with it. He could smell rain, though it would not hit for a long time still. He needed a distraction, or something to help him sleep again.

His hand slid beneath the waistband of his pants. He remembered getting up at one point to answer the door – it explained why he was even dressed at all. The messenger had been from Tsunade, reminding him of his meeting with her. The girl he had with him at the time was not interested in another round, and he climbed back into bed half dressed, where he fell asleep again. Now the girl was gone.

She had been beautiful, Kakashi thought. A cute jonin who had recently graduated. She was a taijutsu type, and knew very well how to use her hands, both for fighting and on him. He closed his eyes as her face came to mind. Her dark hair clinging to her body, wet with the exertion of their love making – if he could even call it that. He began to massage himself, slowly increasing the rhythm as he played out the scenes in his head, but nothing happened. He pulled his hand out of his pants and sighed. Maybe he was all sexed out?

And then came an image of Sakura - her doe eyes gazing at him for reassurance as she kissed his body, caressing his skin with timid fingers, injecting gentle pulses of chakra. His breath caught involuntarily, and a familiar twitch between his legs told him all he needed to know. He wasn't sexed out – he just needed one girl. All the others had merely been distractions, and none of them could provide the satisfaction he so urgently desired. Sex alone wasn't enough anymore, but there wasn't anything he could do about it tonight. His hand went back into his pants.

xxx

It was dark outside, and Sakura glanced through the window to see that rain clouds had gathered over the village. It was the last thing she needed now.

The hospital cafeteria was empty, as it usually was at this time of night. Sakura sat alone at one of the tables, looking deeply into a cold cup of coffee. She should have left when her shift ended. Actually, she should have left when her _first_ shift ended, and now she had to choose between walking home in the wet, or staying long enough to be pulled into work again. It was a member of ANBU that made the decision for her.

"The hokage wishes to see you," he said from beside her.

Sakura looked up into the rat mask. She hadn't seen him approach, but she sensed him, despite her exhaustion. She nodded her understanding and gestured with her coffee cup that she would be on her way as soon as she finished it. The ANBU was gone before she could look up again.

The tower was expectedly quiet, and Sakura was surprised that Tsunade was even still up. It was likely that the Godaime was contemplating the consequences of leaving a large pile of paperwork for tomorrow.

Sakura knocked twice against the door to Tsuande's office and entered as soon as permission was granted. Whatever the hokage had been doing earlier was evidently terminated as Sakura walked in; she had the hokage's full attention.

"How many hours, Sakura?" she asked as soon as her protégé was close enough to the desk.

Sakura looked down and mumbled something, but Tsunade made her repeat herself. "Thirty six," Sakura said reluctantly.

Tsunade tightened her mouth, but did not press the matter. It took very little chakra to keep dry in the rain, and Sakura was just short of leaving a puddle in her shishou's office. Normally Sakura would offer an excuse to explain why she had just worked three shifts back to back, but it would only made her shishou angry.

"What are you running from?" Tsunade asked. While she was irritated, Sakura could see the concern in her eyes. "You were given three days for R & R and you've chosen to work instead."

Sakura wanted to lie – she had become so good at it, but this was not the time and place. "I have stuff on my mind," she admitted. "Working is the easiest way to clear my head."

"Are you telling me that you're thinking of other things when you're supposed to be treating patients?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura blinked.

Tsunade crossed her arms over her breasts. "I know you, Sakura," she said. "You're not clearing your head, you're just distracting yourself. Do you want any counseling?"

Sakura shook her head. She had spent enough time around therapists.

"You still haven't spoken to me about the mission," Tsunade added. "I've read your report, but there are some aspects that lack detail. More so, you haven't even asked about Kakashi's assessment of your application to join ANBU."

"Because it doesn't matter anymore," Sakura replied. "I realized that I'm not cut out for that kind of work."

Tsunade frowned and sat up in her chair. "Is that what you think?"

"It's what I know," Sakura replied. "Even Kakashi says so."

"When did he say that?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura swallowed. It had been right after their kiss in the archive room, and telling Tsunade the truth meant telling her more than she wanted to disclose. "Early on," Sakura replied. "We were still at Katoka."

Tsunade turned to a stack of folders on her desk and flipped through them. She eventually found the one she wanted and pulled it out from two thirds down the pile. She flipped it open, shuffled through the papers and pulled one out. Instead of reading its contents aloud, she held the paper up for Sakura to see. It was her ANBU application, with a big red stamp saying 'APPROVED'. Kakashi's signature stood clear and bold on the line under 'second reference'.

"I, I don't understand…"

"He said that you exceeded all of his expectations," Tsunade said. "Perhaps he didn't have much faith in you at first, but this is evidence that you proved him wrong."

Sakura's cheeks colored at what she was about to say, but she had to let it out. "It's only because _you're_ my mentor," she said, ashamed at herself for voicing the thought.

Tsunade seemed unaffected by it, however. "You have no idea how much Kakashi and I argued before your mission," she said. "He was adamant that you were not suitable. The only sway I had over him was to insist that he gave you a chance to prove yourself. If not for that, my authority meant nothing."

Sakura sighed. She found the news hard to believe. Maybe her brain refused to engage because she was tired…

"Think about it," Tsunade said, putting the paper back into its file. "I'm in two minds about it. On one hand, I like having you at the hospital, but on the other, I know you would make an excellent member of the elite - one that I can rely on. The choice is yours to make now."

Sakura thanked her shishou and turned to leave.

"Your three days' leave starts now," Tsunade barked after her. "You are forbidden to come near the hospital until it's finished."

Sakura's jaw dropped and she turned around to gawk at the Godaime.

"I mean it Sakura," she said, "Go home and deal with your demons. Ask your sensei," she added, "they never go away on their own."

Sakura fought the urge to correct Tsunade. Kakashi was no longer her sensei. But Tsunade had a point – his brooding and endless time spent at the memorial stone meant that he was very poor at dealing with his emotions. She didn't want to become like him.

xxx

It was a bright and beautiful day outside. The air smelled clean and watered from last night's downpour, and judging by the gathering clouds, there would be more soon.

Kakashi stepped out of the tower and headed home. His meeting with the Godaime had been brief. She had a top secret mission for him, and he had to leave tomorrow. Judging by the details, he would be gone for over two weeks, and while this normally did not bother him, there was another complication this time.

It had been easy to push Sakura out of his head while in the village, because he knew that if he cracked, he could see her at any time. If we went on an extended mission, not only would he be forced to wait to see her again, but there was always the risk that he would never come back at all. The idea sat heavy in his gut.

Inside his flat, Kakashi removed his ANBU mask, and his uniform. He began to pack for tomorrow, and spread everything he needed on his bed. He took stock of everything in front of him – clothes, weapons, soldier pills, documents…

He wished Sakura could be there too.

xxx

Sakura stood at her bedroom window, her elbows on the ledge. The rain had started again, and she watched as all the people below scurried to find shelter. She wondered vaguely how many of them would be in the hospital soon with a cold.

She had spent most of the day sleeping, and felt a little groggy now that she was awake. She was used to long hospital shifts, but she still felt horrible after a long sleep. She would go to the kitchen soon – make a hot cup of coffee and maybe climb back into bed with a book. Something without sex and romance – maybe a whodunit, or a biography.

A knock at her door made her jump. She wasn't expecting anyone, and her heart sank at the thought that it might be a summons from Tsunade. She didn't want another mission just yet.

She was wearing only a tank top and her panties, so she grabbed her white cotton dressing gown and tied the cord loosely around her waist. "I'm coming," she shouted, after her visitor knocked again.

There were no peepholes in these apartments, and so the only way Sakura could find out who was outside was to open her door. Whoever it was either didn't have much chakra, or was hiding it. Turned out to be the latter. "Kaka-san?"

Kakashi stood on Sakura's doorstep looking the same way she did in Tsunade's office the previous day. Water dripped from his wet, silver hair and his clothes were dark where the rain had caught him. He had covered his eye with his hitai-ate again.

"There are jutsus for that you know?" Sakura said, referring to how wet he got outside.

"I never learned any of them," Kakashi replied, shrugging. A lie, Sakura was sure of it. She stood aside to let the copy nin into her flat. Then, without another word, she left to fetch him a clean towel.

When Sakura came back, Kakashi was sitting at her kitchen table. He was making patterns on its surface with one finger, using the water that dripped from his hair. He looked up to take the towel from her.

"Coffee?" Sakura asked. "I was just about to make myself some."

"Tsunade says you've been working yourself half to death," Kakashi said. He twisted in his chair to face Sakura, who stood at the sink filling the kettle.

Sakura went still. How was that any of his business, exactly? "I wasn't tired," she replied. She turned off the tap and held up the kettle, which she gave a quick shake. "And you didn't answer my question."

Kakashi finished toweling himself off and tossed the towel over the back of another chair. Then he stood up and walked over to Sakura. "And you haven't answered mine," he replied.

Sakura put the kettle down on the counter, but did not switch it on. She folded her arms as Kakashi drew closer. "Maybe I should ask why you've spent the last few days whoring around?" she said. "I don't live under a rock, you know."

Kakashi put his hands on his hips and swore, and for a moment he struggled to look her in the eye.

Sakura shrugged. "What you do in your spare time isn't any of my concern," she said. Another lie. She had hoped Ino was just spreading fallacious gossip, as she often did. Kakashi's reaction confirmed that the blonde had been telling the truth, and it stung. "Neither should my life concern you."

"But it does," Kakashi said. He still couldn't look her in the eye, though he stood close enough that she could smell him – sandalwood and rain. It brought about a surge of unwanted memories.

"If you're worried about my well-being, I'm fine, really," Sakura replied. She meant it too. She had been through a lot before, and while this was different, she had no doubt she would bounce back from it, no matter how much it tormented her now.

"Then maybe you should be worried about me," Kakashi said. He bit his lip.

The medic in Sakura responded before her brain did. "Are you hurt?" she asked. She unfolded her arms and put her hands on Kakashi's chest.

Kakashi flinched and took both of Sakura's hands in his, causing the flow of chakra to break. He then unfolded her fingers gently and pressed both her palms firmly over his heart. "I don't know how to use this properly," he said. "You able to fix that?"

Sakura wilted. No, she could not, not through medical jutsu anyway. At the same time, she wasn't sure why he was even telling her this. What did it have to do with her? "Kaka-sen…"

"Did he hurt you?" Kakashi asked. He put a hand to Sakura's cheek and forced her to look up at him. "Please tell me he was respectful at least…?"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't understand?"

"Katsuo," Kakashi said. "When you… when he fucked you…"

"I didn't fuck anyone on the mission," Sakura said. She swatted his hand away from her face. "Except you," she added. "You were the only one."

Kakashi stood back and Sakura squirmed away from him. Her face hot with embarrassment. She did not want to be having this conversation with him, not now, and not ever. She put her hands on the kitchen table, hoping to hide her face to restore some dignity.

"Shit, I thought…"

"You thought wrong," Sakura replied. "There were some close calls, but I managed to get out of it every time. Almost cost me the damn mission."

"But it didn't," Kakashi replied.

Sakura sighed. "No, I suppose not." She straightened up, but kept her back to Kakashi. "Why are you here?" she asked.

x

Kakashi felt the answer catch in his throat. Why was he here? One minute he was packing for a mission, the next he found himself walking in the rain. His feet brought him here of their own accord, but how did he explain that without sounding like he'd lost his mind. "I'm leaving for a mission tomorrow," he said.

Sakura turned around at last. The color in her face had lessened, but the high points of her cheeks remained flushed. Damn she looked hot like that. He wondered if she was wearing anything under that robe… "You need a medical?" she asked.

"Yes," Kakashi said. The word escaped before he could consider the consequences.

Sakura sighed. "I should have guessed. You've always hated hospitals." She pushed away from the table and gestured that Kakashi go to the living room while she fetched her kit. There was a grey ottoman against the wall and, after Sakura removed a pile of clean laundry, she instructed him to sit on it.

"Take off your shirt," Sakura instructed. She had uttered those words so many times, to so many different men. "The mask too," she added.

Kakashi complied, and he passed the wet garments to Sakura, who then hung it over the back of another kitchen chair. She pulled a stethoscope out of her medical kit bag and fitted the earpieces in one, practiced movement. She then pressed the diaphragm against Kakashi's chest, which made him jump when the cold metal touched his skin.

"Your heart is beating really fast," Sakura said, frowning. "That could be a sign that you're fighting an infection."

 _How about the urge to jump you?_ Kakashi thought, but he kept it to himself. He knew another trick around this one. "I had some really strong coffee before I got here," he said.

Sakura made no comment at the excuse, and finished the rest of her checks, including his lungs and blood pressure, which was abnormally high. She put the stethoscope away. "I need to do some chakra checks," she said, rubbing her hands together to warm them up.

This was always the part Kakashi hated during medicals. It was usually uncomfortable and invasive, like sticking cold knives into him without the pain. It was different this time, however. Lately it seemed that every time Sakura tried to force chakra into him, his head would spin with pleasure, and lust. He gazed at Sakura's hands apprehensively.

"Now I'm going to see whether you were telling the truth about that coffee," Sakura said. She approached him, but the height difference with him sitting on the ottoman made things a bit awkward. She cleared her throat. "Maybe you should stand for this."

Kakashi complied, and suppressed a shiver. Damp skin and chilly weather meant that he was cold, but he also battled with the anticipation that threatened to overwhelm him. He had been fantasizing about this woman since he got home, and now that he was with her in person he felt like he would burst.

Sakura placed her hands firmly on Kakashi's sides. She closed her eyes and then he felt her chakra snake into him – she was going to feel it…

Sakura's cheeks colored and she opened her eyes, but kept her hands where they were. "Um…"

If Sakura had taken offense to his arousal, she would have stood back, taken her hands off of him, but she remained, staring at him with her lips parted and her eyes slowly glazing over. It was more than he could stand.

Kakashi grabbed Sakura by the V of her robe and, in one swift movement, whipped her around and against the wall. She gave a startled cry, but he muffled it by pressing his mouth against hers. She didn't hesitate, and opened up to let him in. He kissed her deeply, urgently, desperately, like he had been barely breathing since they parted at the onsen.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, and Kakashi grabbed her by the ass to lift her up. She crossed her ankles behind his back and pulled him into her, pressing his arousal against her body. He moaned into her mouth, and felt her smile at his pleasure.

Kakashi put his hand against Sakura's thigh and glided up and under her robe. He was disappointed to feel fabric instead of bare skin – denied access. It was time to remedy the situation. He let Sakura drop and she steadied herself on her feet. He grabbed the cord around her waist, but she stopped him. "Not here," she said. She took him by the hand and led him to the bedroom.

They had barely made it through the threshold when Sakura removed her robe. She threw it across the room and Kakashi scooped her up, carried her to the bed and dropped her onto the mattress. He could hardly contain his excitement – all this waiting, all this uncertainty... for what? He climbed over his prize and pulled her tank top over her head. He savored the way her bare breasts bounced as soon as the material released them. Pink nipples erect – his mouth was on one of them before he could be rid of the garment that had been hiding them. Sakura gasped and arched into him.

He made his way to the other breast, his hand in her panties, trying awkwardly to slide them down her hips. Then he felt her pushing him away from her.

"I guess you get to reap the rewards from my training," Sakura said. Her eyelashes fluttered from shyness, and it made Kakashi's stomach tighten. He could hardly believe she hadn't slept with Katsuo – she was all his.

Sakura pushed Kakashi onto his back and began to kiss him all over – his neck, chest, abs. He closed his eyes and revelled in it, aching with building tension. He almost sighed with relief as her hands found their way to his belt buckle, which she navigated with ease. She undid the buttons on his pants, and he groaned at the release of pressure. Sakura slid his pants down, as well as his underwear, and as soon as she settled between his legs, he knew what was coming next.

"Whoa," he said, jerking up and putting his hands on Sakura's face to stop her. She looked hurt. "You did great last time," he assured her. "But I don't think I'll last very long." It was the truth. There would be other days for this, right now, he just wanted to be inside her. That way he could control himself better, drag it out longer.

Kakashi flipped Sakura onto her back, and she complied easily. He removed her panties, tossed them aside and realized suddenly, that in his blind Serotex induced fever, he had failed to give her a special pleasure that he knew Sasuke would never have bothered to do. Aching as he was for release, Kakashi took a deep breath and promised himself that the delay would be worth it.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"What I should have done the first time," Kakashi said. He settled between Sakura's legs and began to kiss the inside of her thighs.

"No, it's alright, you don't have to… oh fuck!"

Kakashi smiled as Sakura arched at the spike of pleasure, but he did not stop. She moaned loudly as she rocked against his mouth, trying to increase the pressure. He wasn't going to let her come like this though, not right now. He wanted to come together – there would be other opportunities to play.

He had hoped to last longer, tease Sakura a while more, but the smell of her, and her responsiveness was driving him over the edge. He gave one final lick and began to kiss his way back up again – her abs, her ribs, her breasts, all of which were heaving with her heavy breathing. He paused at her face to take in the lust addled look in her eyes. Then Sakura reached out and grabbed him by the hair, pulling him into another kiss on the mouth.

He pulled away from her just long enough to position himself. Last time he had to ask permission – he was wracked with guilt and shame, which warred with the Serotex that coursed through his veins at the time. Now he knew, Sakura wanted this as much as he did, and in one gentle, blissful movement, he was inside her again. Sakura moaned sharply, while Kakashi had to control his breathing. He was so close to the edge.

After a few seconds of stillness, he felt he was in control again and began to thrust, slowly at first – not nearly as fast or hard as he liked it. He watched Sakura's face as she writhed beneath him, grasping at the bedspread above her head. She ground against him, and he tuned into her rhythm. He sped up, applied more pressure and just as he felt her tense up he leaned forward and kissed her again. Sakura's body exploded beneath him, shaking, convulsing. He went even faster, riding out her orgasm while he sought his. He tried to prolong it by kissing her again, but he didn't need much, and he had to pull away from her mouth as he finally succumbed to his own climax, groaning as his body shook.

He tried to move away from Sakura, but his arms gave in and he collapsed on top of her, his heart still hammering as the last few tendrils of pleasure faded. Sakura's short nails were against his skin – his back, his neck, his shoulders, gently scratching and tickling. It felt good.

Kakashi finally managed to roll onto his back, and he pulled Sakura towards him so that she could rest her head on his chest. He kissed her on the forehead, on the nose, on the cheek. He was so happy right now.

Sakura's nimble fingers walked along his chest and she drew gentle circles around his heart, which was only just beginning to beat normally again. "What did you mean earlier?" she asked. "When you said that you didn't know how to use this properly?"

Kakashi sighed. If he genuinely wanted to learn, then dodging the question was not a good way to start. "It means that I don't know how to feel for someone," he said.

"You mean, more than friends or comrades," Sakura replied.

Kakashi nodded.

"You can practice on me, if you like," she offered. "I am a patient teacher."

"Patient enough to wait two weeks?" Kakashi asked.

He felt Sakura nod. "When you get back from your mission, I'll be here for you."

Kakashi gathered Sakura into his arms and squeezed her to him. "Thank you," he said. "I promise I'll be gentle."

THE END


End file.
